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Celebrating Women’s History Month

Meet the Women-Led Team Behind Our New Maternal Pathways Program

Three in white tshirt smile “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”

Michelle Obama
 

Several blocks from our main campus, nestled on the edge of the historic Treme, you’ll find a small apartment complex. The humble exterior masks its big purpose: a new home, dedicated to first-time pregnant people who are also experiencing homelessness. 

At Covenant House New Orleans (CHNO), we are no stranger to pregnant and parenting youth; in fact, about a third of the youth in our care fall into this category. This is an extremely vulnerable population, and the consequences of homelessness and trauma are seen, quite literally, passed from one generation to the next. The traumatic stress and consequences of homelessness have contributed to the following adverse birth outcomes for individuals who give birth while living at CHNO:

  • 50% experienced preventable postpartum complications
  • 99% of babies born were below the national birth weight average
  • 35% of moms giving birth were 18 or younger with higher rates of adverse birth outcomes

Our new program seeks not only to address these issues, but also the systemic forces at play that all too often contribute to adverse health outcomes. Particularly, Black women have disproportionately poor maternal health outcomes. The Maternal Pathways Program will provide direct care and service to mother and baby during the prenatal AND postpartum periods, while also seeking to get involved in public policy that affects young families.

The team behind the work is a women-led, women-inspired group – and a majority Black-led and inspired, to be clear. To celebrate Women’s History Month, we are lifting up this team and highlighting their dedication to community and justice in vulnerable populations. Please know that many more individuals have contributed to this project and this is not an inclusive list of the entire team.

Direct Care Team

These are the women who have dedicated themselves to providing direct care to the pregnant people in the Pathways Program. Click through their profiles below. 

 
Meet Ebonee, MSW, RSWMeet Shelita, MSW, RSWMeet BrittanyMeet Kaylen, BSN, RN, CLC

Ebonee (Director of Young Families)

Where are you from, where did you go to school, why did you become a social worker?

I am from a small town in St. John the Baptist Parish called Garyville, Louisiana, a small town outside of New Orleans. I attended Southern University at New Orleans for social work and Louisiana State University University in Shreveport for Nonprofit Administration. I became a social worker to become a change agent that advocates for young parents and families that are at a disadvantage to receiving fighting chances in the community they reside. 

How did you become inspired to work with young parents & pregnant people?

Growing up my mother was the person in the community that supported families through advocating, transportation, babysitting, and obtaining community services. I would say my first inspiration to work with young parents would be from my Mother. Once the Two Gen Families Program was developed, I knew that this role was made for me to design a program that focuses on creating a positive path for young families to reach successful sustainability

If there was one thing you wish people knew about the young pregnant people you serve, what would it be?

I would like them to know they all bring a different perspective and experience to the table. Our young people are resilient and persevere in challenges faced.  

What is your ultimate dream of this program?

My ultimate dream is for Covenant House New Orleans to develop a Nationwide Roadmap that can be used at a Macro Level on how to effectively provide life changing services to the young families and children experiencing homelessness.

Shelita (Two-Gen Social Worker)

Where are you from, where did you go to school, why did you become a social worker?

I’m from New Orleans, I attended Southern University at New Orleans I became a Social Worker because my passion for people.

How did you become inspired to work with young parents & pregnant people?

I was a teen mom and my purpose is to give back to  pregnant moms by assisting them with obtaining opportunities to develop new purposes and navigate them through systems to have better outcomes to be the best moms they could be.

If there was one thing you wish people knew about the young pregnant people you serve, what would it be?

One thing I know – the pregnant moms we serve is their resilience, their drive to be better than their situation.

What is your ultimate dream of this program?

My ultimate dream for this program is that we impact the population of clients/pregnant moms/fathers/ with wisdom, tools and techniques to be the best parents they can be by encouraging them to always love ❤️ and nourish their children with love ❤️ and teach the moms/ dads how to become self sufficient so their children will grow up with security, personal safety and healthy environments to break generational curses.

Brittant (Two-Gen Resident Advisor)

Where are you from, where did you go to school, why did you become a social worker? 

I am from New Orleans born and raised; with an already instilled passion for advocacy and human connection, choosing social work was a no-brainer although my background or studied discipline is Public Health.

How did you become inspired to work with young parents & pregnant people?

I truly became and consistently am inspired to work with young adults, specifically pregnant teens from my personal life experience of being a teen mom myself. 

If there was one thing you wish people knew about the young pregnant people you serve, what would it be? 

Regarding the young community I serve; I wish people knew first that they are so resilient and secondly realized pregnant/parenting teens are exposed to multiple risk factors, putting them at risk for negative outcomes; however with proper intervention and prevention efforts intended to reduce these risk factors, they go on to lead self-sufficient, productive lives.

What is your ultimate dream of this program? 

My ultimate dream for this program simply put is GROWTH; to be able to aid as many young parents as possible for the betterment of our collective community.

Kaylen (Registered Nurse)

Where are you from, where did you go to school, why did you become a nurse with this program?

I was born and raised in New Orleans. I attended Lusher Charter for high school and graduated with my BSN from Nicholls State. I became the nurse for the Young Families Program because I’ve always had a passion for maternal-child health and community nursing. 

How did you become inspired to work with young parents & pregnant people?

I started volunteering at Covenant House in 2018 through my work with Nurse Nikki. We would provide on-site moms with perinatal wellness visits once a week in the evenings. Through volunteering, I was able to form rapport with the residents and staff at Covenant House. 

If there was one thing you wish people knew about the young pregnant people you serve, what would it be?

I wish people knew that moms aren’t defined by the situation that they are in. A lot of times people try to limit them based on their circumstances and they are so much more. With the support that we provide, a lot of our moms are able to continue onto postsecondary education or start their own businesses. 

What is your ultimate dream of the Maternal Pathways Program?

My ultimate dream for this program is being able to serve the community outside of Covenant House as well. I would like families in New Orleans who might not be homeless, but are in need of a little extra support, to be able to work with us to get the resources they need.

Meet Della, MPHMeet DonnaMeet Haley

Della (Program Evaluator)

Why did you become involved in public health?

I started working as a program evaluator because I love the chance to document the important work done by organizational teams. It’s an exciting challenge to look for answers to the questions we ask about our work – what creates change? What strategies are worth our time and resources? Are we measuring what matters? Are people affected by our work equitably, and if not, how do we change? How do the people we work with think about “success” and measure their own? 

How did you become inspired to work with young parents & pregnant people?

Reproductive Justice is “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.*” I love working with young parents and pregnant people because they need the support of their community to live into those tenets – it’s everyone’s responsibility to create those safe and sustainable communities, and my pleasure to play any role in a time in someone’s life that can be vulnerable, joyful, or both at the same time.

*attributable to SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.

Donna (Major Gifts Officer)

How did you become inspired to work with young parents & pregnant people?

 I wrote the first grant to Kellogg and did a lot of research for it. I became committed to the project when I realized that nothing has changed in the last 30 years. NOLA published a series of articles around 1987 addressing the need for programs to help young, Black pregnant women of New Orleans. The conclusion was that if we don’t make intentional changes now, the problems will continue for generations. Well, it is 30 years later and we are having the same conversations.

When I was writing the Two Gen grant, a few of us got together to design what our Two Gen program should look like. We know our moms needed so much more than simply housing. We designed what we thought was the perfect program, given the challenges of our population of moms. It wasn’t perfect but we touched on all the support they would need. Ebonee was hired to put it into action.

What is your ultimate dream of the Maternal Pathways Program?

That it becomes clear our intentional maternal programing with love and community support works and is the most cost-effective way to end generational trauma and poverty.

Haley (Development and Communications Associate)

Why did you become involved in public health?

In my years of community engagement, advocacy, and research, there has been a clear theme of the importance of good public health policies on the health and wellbeing of individuals and their communities. I’ve been present to so much suffering that I believe – and have observed – that only macro efforts in public health can alleviate and make people healthier and happier. I’ll be attending LSU New Orleans for medical school starting this Spring and will be obtaining a dual degree (an MD and Masters of Public Health), with a concentration in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. I truly believe that in order to provide good medical care to my future patients, I MUST be well-versed in public health issues that play a role in their lives.

What is your ultimate dream of the Maternal Pathways Program?

In addition to supporting our moms, I would love for the work we do with the Maternal Pathways Program to be used to affect massive changes in public health policy. Additionally, I think this program provides a unique opportunity to train future care providers on how to provide inclusive, trauma-informed care. I strongly believe programs like ours have the power to make immense positive change in our community.

Three in white tshirt smile
Two women smiling are leaning back in a photo booth
A mother hugs a baby close to her chest.
Two women smiling during Sleep Out 2020
Woman and child pose for a photo
Covenant House resident looks at camera while wearing bandana as a mask
Child wearing a mask
Woman smiles while looking at camera and taking off mask