Teen Living Program
The Teen Living Program (TLP), a program of Open Pantry Community Services, Inc., is a residential program for teenage mothers and their children who are pregnant and/or parenting and in need of a safe place to live. Open Pantry has been operating this program since 1995.
Our TLP is designed to meet the immediate and long-term needs of teenage parents and their children. The program is designed to assist teen parents in accessing resources, both their own inner resources and those supportive services available in the community. This design not only helps participants to meet their needs, but also to foster long-term goals of self-sufficiency and independence as well as realistic plans to achieve these goals.
TLP operates out of a three family house in the North End of Springfield. The program houses up to six mothers and nine children at a time. Four of the six bedrooms are for permanent families to stay in the program and the remaining two bedrooms are for emergency, temporary placements. Permanent families stay anywhere from 4 months to 2 years. Guests who are placed with us on an emergency basis stay for 1-30 days, until they are placed in a permanent program in the state of Massachusetts.
During 2007, 42 mothers and 50 children stayed and received services at TLP. There were 14 mothers and their children who stayed as permanent placements and 29 mothers and their children who stayed as emergency guests.
While in the TLP, case managers work with the teens to prepare them to live on their own and be self-sufficient.
The teens must attend 24 hours a month of parenting and life skills classes. Some examples are: Nutrition and Cooking Workshop, Write Stuff - a creative writing workshop, Parenting and Child Development, and Preparing Adolescents for Young Adulthood. Some of these classes are taught by the TLP staff and some by people in the community who are volunteer their time and talents. Sometimes an specialized instructor is hired. This happens when a grant is awarded to support a particular project. The Susan A. and Donald P. Babson Charitable Foundation has made it possible for us to hire a specialized instructor to conduct Write Stuff.
While in the TLP, teens are required to attend mandated counseling sessions, pay a program fee equal to 30% of their TAFDC check, share in household chores of the program, and abide by program curfews and specific rules.
Once a week the mothers meet with counselors who come right to the TLP site. They work together so the young mothers can resolve issues and overcome barriers. The children participate in an early intervention screening process, which helps determines their needs. The children receive appropriate services if needed.
The State requirement for participants to pay a program fee helps the young mothers develop a sense of responsibility, which increases their ability to become self-sufficient. To further strengthen their capability of living on their own, the teenagers are encouraged to buy one household item a month, this way when they move out they will have what they need for their own apartment.
As a young mother nears the time when she will move on, the TLP case managers work relentlessly to get the families on every housing list possible. This is done so the families will have access to safe, affordable, low-income housing.
These teenagers, like their counterparts, must attend school or participate in a GED program. While they getting their education, their children attend an Office for Child Care Services licensed daycare. This important part of the program helps the teenagers achieve academic goals that are crucial for succeeding in the real world.
While the TLP can only house teenage mothers and their children, the fathers of are strongly encouraged (if appropriate) to visit and participate in the non-residential services. A fathers outreach worker has been assigned to work 20 hours a week at the TLP. Initially, the outreach worker may help locate and engage the fathers. If they are ready and appropriate, they are allowed to attend workshops and case management sessions. The outreach worker will also assist the fathers with accessing education, job training, legal services, and building and maintaining a relationship with their child.
Even after a family has left the TLP, support is available. TLP is contracted to do follow-up with the teenagers for five years after they leave the program. For these contacts, the case managers call or visit the teen to see how they are doing and if there are any services that the teen may need that the program can provide or connect them with.
The TLP has staff on site 24 hours a day and a full-time employee is always on call for emergencies.
Open Pantry's TLP is funded by the Department of Transitional Assistance and monitored by the Department of Social Services.
Teen Living Program
Calhoun St.
Springfield MA 01107
Ph: (413) 731-5960
Fax: (413) 746-1981
Nicole Lussier, Program Director
tlp@openpantry.org
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