Single Mommies Can!

   I am Chasity Hopkins, the Founder and Executive Director of Single Mommies Can. I was a teen mom. Having been raised by a 17-year-old teen mom and watching the struggles of being young, uneducated, and at times jobless, I learned what it meant to sacrifice and, in most cases, live close to the poverty line. I watched my mom become self-sufficient, obtain her GED, and receive several certifications in the medical field. I learned early on the importance of perseverance. Though many conversations were held, and preventative measures were taken, I still found myself 19 and pregnant, being faced with the same generational curse I was raised in. Becoming a teen mom was both challenging and scary. The first four years of being a single mom with one child and having only a high school diploma, I partially depended on government funded programs such as Food Stamps, Medicaid, Childcare, and Housing. With the goal of being a first-generation college student and breaking the generational curse, I did not allow my circumstance to be my outcome, or my partial dependency on resources to allow me to stop and be complacent even after having two more children by the age of 25. I remember being told by family members and even some friends how I would not be able to go to school, work, and raise three kids as a single parent. I am glad to say that “they” did not define my destiny. Through my faith and determination, I did it…. I raised three amazing children as a single mom. I completed my Associates of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master’s in Business Administration by the age of 40, all while raising my three children, who are now high school graduates, and are attending college. Having firsthand experience with being a single teen mom, I formed Single Mommies Can. Single Mommies Can provides both tangible and intangible resources to teen moms ages 13-20. The mission of Single Mommies Can is “to empower each teenage mom with the determination, the drive, and the will to be more than a “teenage mom” by being self-sufficient, independent, and a model parent. Single Mommies Can’s vison is to develop young women who understand having a child early in life is not the end of life and that success is still obtainable through perseverance. For the mom who is reading this and feels like giving up, my advice to you is to hold on, change will come. Find peace within yourself and be your own motivation. Applaud for yourself when no one is there waiting at the finish line. Tell yourself good job even when you make a mistake. Being a mom did not come with a manual. Fill your cup daily so that there is something to pour into your children. Most importantly love yourself first, it is not selfish. Self-care is the best care…. you got this!!

Chasity Hopkins