A Family Success Story

Child Development Resource’s (CDR) Early Head Start Program in Norge, Virginia has had many success stories, but they’re especially proud of this recent history.

About five years ago, a young mother with a six-month old infant enrolled in their program. This single mother had been sexually abused, and had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. She had not completed high school and was living in poverty.

CDR helped her to get into Avalon, a shelter for battered women, and to enroll in classes to complete her GED. She became pregnant with her second child while in the program, and this child was also enrolled in EHS services. When the second child was diagnosed with a developmental delay, EHS worked with the mother to enroll the child in Part C Early Intervention services.

Today, this young mother is a Nursing School honors graduate with an LPN degree. CDR helped her obtain a scholarship to attend Nursing School, and made it possible for her to attend by providing quality, no-cost childcare at an EHS center. She plans to work for a year, and then apply to school to obtain her RN degree in nursing.

She lives in an apartment and is on the waiting list for Habitat for Humanity housing; was an active participant of the EHS Policy Council, serving as chair for one year, and currently has a child finishing kindergarten and a three-year-old in Head Start.

What a difference five years, a young woman’s strength and dedication, and the support of EHS has made in these lives.

Visit CDR’s web site: www.cdr.org