Summit organizes parents, educators to fight poverty amongst single mothers

NINA MOINI: Well, from food to child care, we all know costs are up for parents in Minnesota. And being able to afford to raise a family is especially difficult on a single income. The poverty rate for families led by a single mother in the state is about three times higher than families in general. That's according to estimates by the US Census. An organization that started in Minneapolis is working around the country to help single moms get out of poverty. It's called Jeremiah Program. And this weekend, it's hosting a summit in Prior Lake, and it's online.

Among the current and former participants who will be there is Lavasha Smith, a graduate of the program, who joins me now. Thanks for being here, Lavasha.

LAVASHA SMITH: Thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: And also, we're really happy to have Jeremiah Program CEO Chastity Lord on the line as well. Thank you for being here as well, Chastity.

CHASTITY LORD: Thank you. Good morning.

NINA MOINI: Good morning and afternoon. Chastity, I'll start with you. Your organization does focus on addressing poverty by helping clear the way for single mothers to get higher education. Can you tell me a little bit about the connection there between gaining that education and just making moves?

CHASTITY LORD: Yes. First of all, thank you so much for having me and Lavasha.

NINA MOINI: Absolutely.

CHASTITY LORD: It means a lot. Ultimately, as you said, Jeremiah Program was birthed right there in Minneapolis by community members who came together because they saw a need. Unfortunately, in this country, as you know and we've often heard, single moms, especially single moms living at the financial margins with young kids, are told to put their head down and bet on their kids. And that's great, but we lose a generation that way. And ultimately, what Jeremiah Program is committed to and has been committed to for the past 27 years, which is pretty incredible, is creating a space where a mom is able to simultaneously bet on herself and bet on her kid.

I love to say that a great mom, like most Jeremiah Program moms are, they dream in threes. They dream for themselves. They dream for their kids, but they also dream for their community. And higher education plays into that regarding economic mobility. We're really interested in moms disrupting generational poverty, and not just a high wage job. And good, better, and indifferent for non-traditional students, the most important lever is higher education. It makes a transformative impact for a single mom. It gives them an opportunity to pursue a career and offers paid sick leave, parental leave, PTO, time off to go and support kids in after-school activities. And so higher education plays-- is a huge lever around career mapping for our moms.

NINA MOINI: And a lot of single moms won't make it through, right? They'll become overwhelmed, and they won't be able to finish that degree. Lavasha, can you take us back to when you learned that, first, that you were going to become a mother? I'm so struck by what Chastity said about, sometimes as a society saying, well, you just put your head down and work. Hopefully your kids will be able to grow in different ways. Did you feel that way when you were first becoming a mom? Were you like, oh, this is it for me? Or how did that feel at that time?

LAVASHA SMITH: Yeah, at that time I became pregnant, I was about 19 years old. I felt a lot of uncertainty. I had already had a plan. And I was already in college. But I didn't know if I would be able to continue, because now I was bringing a life into the world. And that was a big decision that I had to make on my own. And so I felt uncertainty, a little bit of shame, and just not sure where I would go next.

NINA MOINI: Right. And so what led you to the Jeremiah Program?

LAVASHA SMITH: Yeah, so I was a couple of months pregnant. I learned about the Jeremiah Program through a family friend who told my mom, and she told me. I looked the program up. It sounded great. I was drawn to it because of the educational aspect. Again, I was already in college, but I didn't have anywhere to live. And so it provided the childcare, the housing, and the education. So I just applied, didn't think much of it. And then I got a call back within a week. And it just kind of went from there.

NINA MOINI: And how did it go? What did it mean to be able to get some support in different areas of life?

LAVASHA SMITH: The Jeremiah Program for me was very transformative. Not only did it provide stability or a place to stay where I could do my homework, but I was able to meet other moms that I still have relationships with today. My son still has friendships from the infant room that he still cultivates today. And just being able to pass down those lessons and knowledge to him as well, so those are some of the things that I brought with me from the Jeremiah Program.

NINA MOINI: Wonderful. And Chastity, I'm curious to know how you find people to be part of the program. Are people referred? Who qualifies? And then how long do you usually provide those kind of holistic services for people?

CHASTITY LORD: Yes, so folks like Lavasha, they either hear about us through a community-based organization, a house of worship. Sometimes it's social service agencies. A lot of times it's just moms who are just committed to something different happening for their lives. And they're online, Googling for our website. And a JP mom is typically with us four to six years.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

CHASTITY LORD: In addition to that, we have a very robust alumni program, as Lavasha is a part of, because we understand economic mobility is a marathon and not a sprint. And we're really looking for opportunities for current JP moms to be able to see themselves within Lavasha but then for Lavasha to also be able to be in community with other moms who are in motion, moving through different chapters of economic mobility for themselves. I myself was raised by a single parent. And I know there's value in community. There's value in being in spaces and places for with people who are on their own economic mobility journey because it really is a marathon.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. And you've been on this journey for you said, what, 27 years or so. And you started the summit, though, shortly after you became CEO in 2019, right? And I'm curious why you wanted to start the event, and then a little bit about what's in store for this year.

CHASTITY LORD: Yes. And so you're right. The summit started about five years ago. And it was really birthed out of the pandemic and also George Floyd's murder. There was just a real need, as there is now, for community. There's this great quote that community is a form of resistance. There's something about being in spaces and places where you are held and affirmed and supported and celebrated. And that's ultimately what we were doing the first three years it was virtual. And it's been in person now. And so they'll be over 500 moms, current moms and alumni moms, convening there in Minneapolis at Mystic Lake.

In addition to that, we extend invitations for over 500 to 1,000 who will be virtual. Folks can go on our social media channels and register. If you know a single mom that is in your life, tell her about it. Tell them about it.

And you asked about the programming. It is going to be awesome. It is programming where a mom actually enters-- if they are a current JP mom, they will be there in person. If they have a kid that's two and under, there will be onsite childcare for them and some little babies running around. And for our current JP moms who have children that are over two, we provide a stipend for them. But I want you to know, any of our virtual moms that also attend at least three sessions will also receive a stipend for childcare that you can also do so that you can focus on the programming. But it's everything for entrepreneurship.

Have you ever thought about running for parent teacher-- the PTO, talking about maternal care, looking at and understanding climate justice. There is an opportunity to engage in raising a child during these times and the conflict of centering yourself while also wanting to support and engage and support your child. There's workshops on personal finance. And they're fireside chats. They're not a college course. There's a 30-minute presentation. And then there's a small, intimate fireside chat that allows people to also ask questions of the authors and the speakers that are there.

And everybody will be speaking to a single mom. You will not have to try and find yourself. Everything will be centered around that particular identity. And there's something really beautiful around collective dreaming, which is this year's theme.

NINA MOINI: Sure. That sounds wonderful, and so many different areas of life that come to play in creating stability for people. Lavasha, before we have to go, what are some of the ways that you would want people to better support single parents, as society, but also if you have individuals in your life who are single parents?

LAVASHA SMITH: The village is very important. And everybody plays an important role in that. And so whether that is watching the child while you need to go to school or go to work, whether that is mentorship, whether that is having those healthy relationships that I talked about a little bit earlier with other moms or other people in your life, those are just some of the ways to support, and knowing that our story doesn't end there. It didn't end at, I was a single mom. But we're doing other great things outside of that. And then we're also feeding into each other. And so that's a beautiful side that people get to see at the summit as well.

NINA MOINI: Lavasha and Chastity, thank you both so much for your time. And congratulations, and have fun at the summit.

LAVASHA SMITH: Thank you.

CHASTITY LORD: Thank you. Folks can go to our Instagram or Facebook if they know a single mom in their life that they want to register virtually. Thank you so much.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. That was Chastity Lord, CEO of the Jeremiah Program, a nonprofit that helps single mothers get education, housing, and career opportunities, and Lavasha Smith, a graduate of the program and a program manager for Nexus Community Partners.