| Bienvenidas Girls, Family Services of Westchester |
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Imagine being an immigrant teenager coming to Westchester to live with parents you haven’t seen since you were small. You are enrolled in classes taught in a language you can’t speak well, if at all, and you are surrounded by kids whose social codes and mores are alien to you. If you are a newly arrived teenage girl, you are likely feel culturally isolated and desperately lonely, leaving you vulnerable to an inappropriate relationship that could result in pregnancy. The effects of teen parenthood can be devastating: 33% of teen mothers eventually graduate from high school. For an immigrant teen, parenthood may serve to further isolate her from the mainstream community, keeping her from educational and employment opportunities that could lift her out of poverty. A Westchester Community Foundation grant to Family Services of Westchester to support its Bienvenidas Girls program in Port Chester High School, where 95% of pregnant girls are newly arrived Hispanic immigrants, is underwriting an innovative pregnancy prevention program that is having positive results. Within a few short years, the drop-out rate for pregnant teens has been reduced from 30% to few than 8%, and there have been no new pregnancies since the program started.A weekly psycho-educational support group helps the girls understand sexual development, sexually transmitted diseases, and the importance of preventing pregnancy. The girls-only atmosphere allows them to discuss their values, the pressures they face, ask questions, and practice setting limits by role playing. The program also includes referrals to community services, tutoring and homework help, and sports and other recreational opportunities. The program also has a support group that brings newcomer and former newcomer parents together, allowing the more experienced parents to mentor the others. Teens remark that they are more comfortable raising concerns with parents who have been part of this group. |