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Agency helps young parents Stafford County 19-year-old is trying to overcome her past--and provide her young son with the stable home she didn't have Date published: 4/9/2009
By CATHY DYSON Amanda Spindle looks around her trailer, at her boyfriend and 18-month-old son, and is grateful for all she has. She smiles when her case worker tells her how well she's doing. She's proud of how far her young family has come, even though things aren't the greatest now. Spindle and her boyfriend, Michael Hare, are both 19, out of work and trying to keep the mobile home they bought last year in a Stafford County trailer park. But this isn't a story about the impact of the economy or the plight of teen parents. It's about a young woman facing another bump in what has always been a rough road. "I don't come from money. I don't come from opportunity. I don't come from education. You know what I'm saying?" said Spindle, whose voice rises as she makes her point. She wants to get a college degree so she can better provide for her son, Jayden. She's trying to break free from the cycle that landed her in foster care, but it seems like every time she gets ahead, something happens. "I want it just as bad," Spindle said about her goals. "But why is it 10 times harder for me than anybody else?" Spindle was talking with Melodie Eggleston, a support worker with Healthy Families Rappahannock Area. Eggleston has visited Spindle every week for nine months, through the program offered by the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. She knows all about Spindle's past. "You've been in this place before, so you just keep fighting for it, girl," Eggleston said. "You've fought through a lot of other things. You can fight through this." When Spindle was a child, her family was homeless at times. One of her first memories is sleeping in a white Monte Carlo with her brother while their parents slept on the hood. Even when the family could afford an apartment, the kids went without food and clean clothes. Spindle ended up in foster care facilities that got more restrictive as she got more "opinionated," which is how she described her outspoken attitude. She bounced from one home to another. When foster families couldn't cope with her, Spindle said she was sent to group homes. When she ran away from those, she was put in locked facilities.
Date published: 4/9/2009
"I want it just as bad," Spindle said about her goals. "But why is it 10 times harder for me than anybody else?" i keep hearing this refrain from these girls and my taxes keeps going up. the reason it is so hard for this girl is because she couldn't take care of herself, but she had a child. that was very selfish. she brought a child into this world she couldn't support & i certainly didn't want to support her child. girls like her need to get an education first & career before a child.
No responses telling us what this couple has done. Just a few "rah-rah" cheerleading posts, basically nothing more than platitudes and dreams. Unfortunately, children can't eat dreams. Don't get me wrong, I hope for the child's sake that they do well. Basically we have a rebellious kid who got pregnant at 17, had her child removed for 8 months, and lives with her also unemployed babby dady. What part of the past performance inicates success ?
Like I said before... let's see a follow up in 2-3 years.
as a person who watches over foster children while the parents get their
acts together (or not...) i'm thrilled with how well this case is going. it's a
breath of fresh air to see a bio mom and dad who actually show they
care with more than just empty promises and pretty words. kudos to
you young parents- keep fighting the good fight and make better lives
for your young family! good for you for taking responsibility for your
actions.
For sticking around and helping out. Alot of them just bail out after they get them pregnant.
This is 2009 and the world is a much different and better place than it was in the 1950's. Whether you like it or not our society will never go back to those outdated values. Today we are constantly evolving towards the way the future will be for our children. The fact is that percentage of children born out of wedlock is growing and I don't see anything wrong with that, and it will not change. If you insist on sticking to your outdated values you are doomed to be disappointed. Adapt or suffer.
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