Jess: Graham Windham is a child welfare and youth development agency in New York City. About a year and half ago we sat down and talked about what we could do to further our support for parents. When we started to talk with parents about what they value, they said they valued their relationships with peers.
We thought that a Rise writing … Read More
When the child welfare system enters your life, there are already so many assumptions that you don’t have strengths as a parent. When you’re also disabled, often your limits are all anybody seems to see.
A report released 18 months ago by the National Council on Disability, “Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children,” said that too often the child welfare system bases it judgments on prejudice, not … Read More
It was July 1997, on a hot, humid day. All the neighborhood children were outside. Teenagers were playing in the fire hydrant spray to cool off. Younger girls were jumping rope and boys were playing handball. A few young men were playing stickball in the street.
My birthday was approaching and I had gone out the day before and bought bikes for my two children, Raven and Shai. I always liked … Read More
When my girlfriend told me that she was pregnant, I believed that the baby she was carrying wasn’t mine. I didn’t have confidence in ourrelationship. Sometimes she didn’t pay attention to me. I would say to her, “Come at 6 pm,” and she would come if she felt like it, but if not, she wouldn’t show. She almost never called me. It was me who called her all the time.
But when I went … Read More
I was only 17 when I became pregnant. It was not the happiest moment in my house when I announced my pregnancy. Everyone wished forabortion.
I was terrified of having a baby. But knowing that a little one was inside me gave me a strong feeling of love. I told my family, “It’s my body, my life and I want to keep my baby.”
After Remi was born, I soon … Read More
