The teens targeted by New Moms are the most at-risk of the community’s adolescent parents. Most are survivors - or continuing victims - of abuse, neglect, abandonment, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence. Many are officially homeless, already living on the streets. 97% are Latino or African-American girls between the ages of 13 and 21, with children 5 years old or younger. When these youth come to us, approximately 80% have dropped out of school. Only about 25% have ever held a job. On average, they are operating at a fourth grade level of educational achievement. Almost all are on welfare or have no income at all. 100% are living in extreme poverty. Most often they come to us with nothing more than a baby in their arms and a trash bag full of their belongings.
The instability and dysfunction with which these teenage mothers live not only cripples their lives and future – but the lives and future of their children. The children of the homeless/near-homeless youth we serve are: 3 times more likely than non-homeless children to be placed in remedial education, 4 times more likely to be abused, neglected or abandoned, 4 times more likely to drop out of school, more likely to score lower on cognitive development tests, at high risk of serious health problems, and at 80% risk of continuing the cycle of poverty in which they grew up.
While many national studies are citing a decline in teen pregnancy,
the pregnancy rate of teens living in poverty has doubled to over 60% in the last ten years. And the number of homeless female youth in Illinois who are pregnant and/or parenting has more than doubled in the last 20 years, rising from 33-68%.
