By Madeline Zuckerman
For Jenny Stanton, it all adds up and balances out. Jenny had a career in accounting before moving into real estate, and she has long been enthusiastic about volunteering, having helped at a hospital in Illinois when she lived there, and later at a crisis pregnancy clinic in East Bay San Francisco.
When she and her husband retired to the Coachella Valley over 12 years ago, Jenny naturally began looking for volunteer opportunities here. At Southwest Church in Indian Wells, Jenny found out about Mama’s House, which provides a safe, supportive, loving, and nurturing environment for women experiencing crises while pregnant and/or with an infant or small child, who have no place to go and no means of support. This resonated with Jenny, who had herself once been an 18-year-old new mother in need of support and guidance.
So Jenny started volunteering at Mama’s House, initially doing babysitting, then she transitioned into teaching in the Mama’s House Earn & Learn Program. She currently meets with the Mama’s House residents on a one-to-one basis for approximately 2 hours per session per week. Jenny spends time discussing different topics with the residents, answering questions, and there is also homework involved. These residents learn about their pregnancy, post-partum depression, infant care, breast feeding, dieting, infant relationships, child discipline, parenting skills, in addition to real life skills such as budgeting, saving money, renting a home or buying a car.
“Jenny’s commitment to these mothers and their transformation is what allows Mama’s House to thrive,” said Rachel Harrington, Executive Director of Mama’s House. “We could not do what we do here without volunteers like her. Jenny’s calm demeanor, encouraging spirit, and true caring for the residents is what has made a difference in so many lives throughout the years.”
But it takes time. Jenny has to learn about these young moms, let them learn about her, and slowly gain their trust before they can take in what she is telling them and begin the work of turning their lives around.
“Many of these women come from highly dysfunctional families, having been abused in some way, and many of them did not even have a mom as a role model to relate to,” Jenny says. “When I first meet these new residents, they are usually very quiet, very fearful and closed off, and they do not trust many people around them. They want to trust you but have been so disappointed along the way by their own families. There has been no consistency in their lives, so even if I say, ‘See you next week,’ they are not sure that I will actually show up next week.”
But, she says, “as I work with them for a good number of weeks, I begin to see them respond a bit more and begin to trust me and the people around them. They
start to relate to me and trust me to help them change the trajectory of their lives because they know that I was a young mother, too. You could say I’m the role model of a mom a lot of these women never had in their own lives.”
Jenny says one of the most important things she teaches the Mama’s House residents is self-esteem, so they have a voice and feel confident they can go out in the world and accomplish what they want and need to – such as getting their GED or high school diploma, or doing college classes online, getting a stable job, or ultimately finding a place to live.
“It is just amazing when you see the transformation in these women,” Jenny says. “They are just so broken when they arrive at Mama’s House, but after some time you can see them begin to flourish here. You get to know them and see where they have come from and how their lives have changed for the better. You get to see the smiles on their faces, their babies thriving, and you know these women are going to go on and take all the knowledge they’ve learned and put it into play for them and their children to live a good life.”
When they graduate from the program, it’s so rewarding for Jenny to realize that she has played a small part along the way in the successful outcome of these women who have truly turned their lives around. Jenny is confident that their families and communities will be impacted forever.
Mama’s House is always making improvements to its highly successful programs because the organization listens and stays on top of what its residents will need to know to survive and become independent out in the world, including especially the most up-to-date information on pregnancy and infant care.
“The residents at Mama’s House are so lucky because they have the most comprehensive information that exists today on pregnancy and parenting, which I never had access to as a young mother,” Jenny says.
And many residents do stay in touch with Mama’s House — some come back to help out or even work there. These women want to come back to show Mama’s House how they have turned their lives around and to maintain ongoing relationships with Mama’s House.
“Volunteering at Mama’s House is like seeds you plant, and you watch them take shape and flourish and grow into amazing women and mothers,” Jenny says, adding that she wants to continue volunteering at Mama’s House “forever.” I feel so blessed to be able to go and volunteer there. I tell everyone I know or meet about Mama’s House and encourage them to get involved and volunteer. Who doesn’t like to babysit and play with babies? And who wouldn’t like to have a role in giving babies a healthy and stable life with their moms?”
