News And Stories
Tree Trust Program Is Helping Young Mom
According to 18 year-old Lapricia Williams, “[m]ost people think that when you’re young, and you have a baby, you don’t have any options.”
But she credits Tree Trust’s Employment Exploration Project and case manager Emily Schloesser with changing her mind. Since November, Emily and Lapricia have worked together to begin building a bright future for Lapricia and her 16 month-old daughter, Jalayah.
The two women met in November when Emily taught a skills class at Lapricia’s school, the North Vista Education Center, which offers special services to parenting teens.
Lapricia cites Emily as one of the biggest reasons she got her first job working as an intern at a childcare center. For example, Lapricia did not have a ride to her internship orientation until Emily offered to drive her. Lapricia says she realized then that “[Emily] must really want to help me.”
Lapricia loves her internship and will begin working at the center full-time as an aide. “I don’t really feel that I’m working,” she says. Lapricia believes that her job at the childcare center makes her a better mother and aunt. She brings the skills and strategies she learns at work to her interactions with her daughter and her sister’s children.
In the coming year, Lapricia and Emily will continue exploring career options. Lapricia plans to complete an internship in a pharmacy and possibly enroll in a pharmacy technician training program after her graduation.
No matter what, Lapricia wants to create a strong, stable future for herself and for Jalayah. “In 10 years,” she says, “I hope I have – no I will have – a house and a car and a good way to take care of my daughter.” Jalayah will grow up knowing that in any successful career, “[y]ou should never wake up not wanting to go to work.”
Tree Trust
2350 Wycliff Street Suite 200
Saint Paul, MN 55114
Phone: 651-644-5800
Fax: 651-644-1469
