A teen mom's journey to empower others

WNYC News

The New York City area thrives on the efforts of everyday people making a difference in their communities. Think of the teacher who turns an emptied lot into a community garden, the artist running free workshops for kids, or the neighbor who organizes coat drives every winter. WNYC's Community Partnerships Task is highlighting some of them. We're calling them, "Community Champions." Samora Coles is the founder and executive director of the Alex House Project, a non-profit peer-led organization that aims to support pregnant and parenting mothers living in NYC.

The transcript of Samora Coles' story has been lightly edited for clarity.

My story that led to the Alex House Project, I was a young mom, 17 years old, and not knowing exactly how to complete school, how to find a job. I was raised with my grandparents, and so it was kind of rough trying to figure out how to maneuver around with a child. So, moving forward, I did eventually finish school, found some employment, and not so long ago, maybe around 2016, I landed a really great career where I was a reproductive health coordinator. At that time, my supervisor and now best friend asked me to come up with a program for my community, and I just automatically knew that I wanted to help and support teen moms because of the situations that I was in. I know these trials and tribulations. I understand the climbing of the muddy waters, and so who but me should be leading this organization.

Alex, by the way, is my son. He is 32 years old now. I raised him. He raised me, so to speak. If you're a teen mom, you understand what that means. I also have another son who actually became a teen dad, but what he did was he went through the program, and so I got to see the organization from the inside. I never had that opportunity before.

I wish there was an Alex House Project when I was 17, and maybe it wasn't supposed to be because I was supposed to create it. But I so wish that I was around when I needed that support. I guess I could be a champion, but I'm just a little old girl that just had a baby at 17 and decided, you know what, I gotta do something.