- [Announcer] Support for this program is provided by the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, the Schillhahn-Huskey Foundation, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

- On today's show, we will feature two impactful nonprofits.

One supports single moms in college and their children.

Next is a nonprofit ministry whose purpose is to restore lives of formerly incarcerated women in the North Georgia region.

Stay tuned to learn more (bright uplifting music) Welcome to Chattanooga Stronger Together.

I'm Barbara Marter.

Momentum Network serves single moms in college through a variety of services and programs.

Cara Hicks is executive director and founder of Momentum Network.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

And I am so excited to have our viewers to learn more about Momentum Network.

So when we get started, tell my why Momentum Network, and what is your why, your story.

- Yeah, thank you so much for having me today.

It is our honor to be able to come alongside single moms who are shattering statistics with their kids and for their kids to build a better future for their family.

And as a former single mom, I know what it's like to struggle, and we wanna make sure that no single mom walks alone.

Growing up in a single mom household, I recognized how hard my mom had to work.

Sometimes two and three jobs.

I knew that education was a pathway out of poverty.

And when I found out that I was pregnant the same weak that I gave my salutatorian speech, I was so scared.

And yet having the village that it takes come alongside me enabled me to not just go through that experience, to continue on, and get my degree, I was able to grow through that as well.

So we exist to come alongside single moms, whether it's a young woman who's in school and has an unplanned pregnancy and feels like she has to choose between her path forward and parenting, or a single mom who just feels completely overwhelmed and is working two or three jobs to be able to create a pathway out of poverty.

We exist to bring that village together that it takes to help them see what they can be, and to shatter those statistics, to overcome those obstacles.

Single mom or not.

We need a village.

We need community.

- And I think too, your story is when you were in college, you actually had someone step up and be a sponsor or a mentor, or be that person that can come alongside you and walk this path, I think which then led you to say if I had this person in my life, how can we recreate this and multiply it so that it helps other women and everything.

So that's awesome.

You talk about the village and everything.

You actually do have a village now?

- [Cara] Yes, yeah.

- So tell us about that.

- So we first started focusing on the relational village, because having people to come alongside and guide is very important.

But having had lived close, or having lived close to campus at the University of Georgia, and being able to access the resources and relationships I needed, I knew how essential it was to having that residential village as well.

So when we first started, the moms that we served, I say they were singled out all over town, and so to be able to serve them, it took a lot of time out of their schedule to come to meet us, and so we wanted to make sure that they could be connected to a community of supporters, and close to their campuses.

Their time is so limited, and making sure that they're connected and close was very important.

But also making sure that they had housing that they could afford.

College housing is typically expensive for your traditional student, but it is absolutely unaffordable for a single mom, who is possibly having to cut back to part time work to be able to make time to go to college and to be able to spend time with their kids.

And so the Lord has allowed us to have a village close to campus, and it's been such a huge game changer for us.

Especially in the middle of COVID, when isolation was causing major issues, we were able to launch our program in August of 2020, our residential program, where moms live next door to each other, they live next door to campus.

We're very close to campus.

It's walking distance.

And they're next door to us.

Our offices are onsite where they can come, and they can get coaching through the challenges that they face, as well as childcare, we provide childcare during our weekly workshops, and we will provide childcare, regular childcare, thanks to a community partnership, where they can just walk across the street and have full-time childcare available for their kids.

- And so these kind of look like little tiny houses, just sort of stacked.

It's really cool.

It almost reminds you of beach homes and everything.

- Yes, so we are currently working on expanding for next year.

We could have up to 10 apartments next semester, or this coming semester actually.

And we are able to serve, each mom has her own individual apartment.

It's a two-bedroom apartment, so each family can have their own space, but they are, like you said, they're cozy and close together, attached together.

So it's a small community where they have the ability to be connected to their neighbor, but also have that individual space.

- That's true.

So what's the requirements to become a part of the Momentum Network?

- Yeah, so we have a lot of levels of engagement for moms who, any single or expectant mom in college can become a member, and that just means that we're here to help them.

We help them with the resource navigation.

There are so many resources out there that are available for these families, but when you are juggling so many different things, it just helps to have a reminder or somebody to help you navigate these complex systems.

So any single mom who is in college, that is available for her through membership.

We have some care kits and other perks that are available for those single moms, but our most motivated moms, they have access to our scholar program.

And through our scholar program we do an in depth analysis to help them see the resources they have, and the resources that they need.

During that process, we call it mapping it out.

We help them organize their budget, organize their calender, and we help them set up a plan, and then we follow up with them on a weekly basis to check in and say how's it going, what went right, and what are you struggling with, and how can help you meet the needs that you have?

So that is really our core program, the scholar program, and that is open again to any motivated single mom.

We do require them to do at least a semester commitment for that program, and our folks who go through and complete the scholar program are then eligible to participate in the residential program.

And so there are a couple of layers, but that allows us to serve more moms.

This past year, we've served 83 moms, and so we serve a lot more off campus in various ways than we serve on campus, but that on campus comprehensive support, that's where we meet moms in a deeper way.

So we're still meeting with them through our weekly workshops that are available, and we're checking in with them also on their map.

They're still practicing their progress.

But they have housing available to them as well, which meets a huge need for families.

- Do you have a mentorship program or anything like that?

- Yes, so they have access to mentors who will check in with them on that weekly basis.

So we get them started as a staff, and help them create that plan, and then they will meet with, either meet with or speak with, they can have a phone call with their mentor once a week, and then we also, so we have their in depth mentor that walks with them, and we also connect them through other experiences, whether it's mentors coming to our weekly workshop, and helping them, we have professionals teaching them about budgeting, we have professionals teaching them about conflict management.

And then we have other folks who come along and just share their career experiences with the moms, so it's multi-layered.

It sounds a little complex, but we know that single moms have some complex things that they work through, and so providing that comprehensive program that includes both the peer community of the other moms that they're journeying alongside with, those other moms on mission.

The supportive sisters, the other folks who are in either college or maybe supportive parents who just have those informal relationships and then the mentor network is so important, and that mentor has committed to come alongside with them for at least a year.

- So if someone was interested in becoming a mentor, what do you look for in a mentor?

- No perfect people.

You absolutely cannot be perfect to apply for the program.

- Oh, good.

- That's one of the things we hear a lot from, we are looking for women to walk with them, ideally empty nesters.

We are a faith-based organization, so we do ask that our core mentors have lived some life and have lived on faith, and so as a Christian organization, that's very important to us.

But we do have other opportunities.

We've had career mentors who have not made that in depth commitment.

Our core mentor program requires folks to be committed for at least a year, and that is, we find that it's necessary to have a commitment.

We say courage follow commitment, and so that's a more committed opportunity.

But those folks will journey with moms and follow up with them via phone or Zoom, and sometimes if you have that capacity, you can come sit on the porch with them.

And build the relationship that way.

- What are some volunteer opportunities, or some things that as people get to know you and check out your website, which we'll have on the screen, how can they get involved with you if they wanna be a mentor, or just help out in any way?

- So we recruit new mentors each semester.

- Okay.

- We will have our summer, our fall mentors getting started in August.

We'll be recruiting for our winter mentors starting at that time, so whether you're ready to dive in deep, we'll have some training available for those folks, or if you're not quite ready to go that deep yet, we say offer an hour.

Offer an hour to meet with a mom, or meet with us an organization, and we'll get you involved.

So they can go to our website at momentumnetwork.org/apply, and sign up there, and we'll take it from there.

- Oh, that's wonderful.

Thank you so much for coming in today.

- Thank you.

- And educating me and the community more about Momentum, and what you're doing to not only change the lives of these single moms, but you're actually doing a generational change too because you're showing these young children how important education is.

So thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- I appreciate that.

Up next, we'll have Donna Dean, executive director of Restore 6:34.

Stay tuned.

- [Announcer] We wanna know how you serve your community.

Send us photos or videos of you or your family volunteering and we may feature it on a future episode.

Email stronger@wtcitv.org, or use the hashtag StrongerWTCI on social media.

- Welcome back.

Donna Dean is joining us.

She's the founder and executive director of Restore 6:34.

They serve formerly incarcerated women of North Georgia and Chattanooga.

The nonprofit ministry offers a holistic program focused on ending the incarceration cycle.

Donna, thank you so much for being with us today, and I'm so happy that you're here, and that our viewers get to learn more about 6:34.

So before I ask you what your mission is and your why, I just want to tell you I love the words that are on your website.

"Transform wounds into wisdom."

That is beautiful.

I love that.

So tell me, what is 6:34, and what's your why in creating this ministry?

- Well, I started out going into the local jail, had been invited to do Bible studies with the women in the Walker County Jail, and we were seeing, those of us that were going in each week, that there was a pattern, that the ladies would get out, and then a few months later, the same ones would be back in.

And I remember one time asking them to raise your hand if you've been in here before, and every single hand was raised.

And so we would pray with them, they would raise their hand, and please pray for me, I'm about to get out.

They were excited about getting out, but they were also scared, because they knew that they were gonna get right back in the same cycle because they didn't have a support system.

And so just was impressed by the Lord that we needed to come alongside of them, that He had compassion for Mark 6:34 when he looked out at the crowd, he said they were like sheep without a shepherd, and so he began teaching them many things.

So we felt that we needed to have a discipleship home, where they could have a shelter that is sober and safe place that they could also have a community of believers to help support them in their recovery.

- And I like the fact that you call it a support shelter and not a rehab center.

I think that's really important too.

There's a lot of stigmatism, I think, around being the word rehab, or whatever.

So support center, I think, is really good.

So how do you get the females that come into the program?

What's the process there?

- We go in while they're doing the Bible study with the ladies, we can see the ones who are coming to the Bible study, and they learn about the ministry, they learn about the Bible, and then it's faith-based, and because it's faith-based, they can choose to come into the home.

It's not mandated that they have to come to our home.

There's other places that they can, if they're court-ordered to go to inpatient rehab center, they can choose where they wanna go, and so we have applications, and if they're court ordered and they can choose, they fill out an application, and then we do an interview with them to see where they're at, to let them know who we are so that they aren't signing up for something that didn't realize what they were signing up for, and then we do a background check because we do have, because of all the volunteers that we have in the home, and where we're located, it needs to be nonviolent offenders.

So we do have that in process that we do.

And no sexual assaults.

So it's just for the safety of everybody living in the home, and those are coming in.

Then we also do medical screening because we're doing community living, so there's certain things to live in a community that they have to be able to medically, and they have to be able to do the program.

They have to be able to do chores, they have to be able to do classwork, so if they're not mentally cognitive and able to do that, then it's not gonna be just the right fit for them.

And there are mental health issues sometimes that might prevent them from coming, so there's several things that have to line up for this to be the right fit for a lady that wants to come into our program.

- Earlier you had mentioned the Walker County Jail.

So that's where you're going in and serving right now?

Right?

- Right, we go in once a week.

But we also have ladies that call from the Catoosa County Jail.

We've had ladies, and Silverdale that we've had people that have contacted us.

If they can cross the state line, that usually is where we can have a hiccup is if they're not allowed to cross the state line, so we have to have their supervision, the supervising officer, the court has to allow them to come.

- Okay, so when you say cross the state line, you're actually located in Georgia?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Okay.

And so the ones from Silverdale or here locally, would have to have permission to move-- - Right.

- Okay, that makes sense.

- And sometimes they do an interstate compact where they allow them, and the states work together.

- Oh, okay.

Okay.

Are you doing this by yourself, or do you have churches, or how do you-- - No way could I ever do this by myself.

We have a small army it feels like of volunteers and trainers that come in and work in the programs, and we do have support of local churches.

We have Sunday school classes that come in and support us financially, and be on hands and feet, and then individual donors that support us.

So we have about, I was counting the other day, and there's about 22 people in a two week time period that physically come in the house and work with the ladies.

- Oh, that's wonderful.

So when you're in the jail and everything, you're going once a week?

- Yes ma'am.

- Okay.

And so is it hard going in the jails and serving with these women?

I mean.

Are you seeing they're crying out?

Or what are you getting from them?

What are the vibes you're getting from them?

Because these are nonviolent offenders, of course, but just the heartfelt, what do you see there?

- Well, when we go into the jail, it's not just nonviolent.

It's anybody that's in jail.

So we get to minister to them.

And they sometimes shake their head and look at me, but they really are some of my favorite people to spend time with, because they take the mask off, and they're not saying I'm perfect.

They know I am broken.

I am hurt, and I need help.

And the ones that don't want to come, we actually go into their cell block and where they eat their meals, so if they don't wanna come out, they stay in their individual cell where they sleep, but the ones that come out into the multipurpose area, they are very respectful.

They listen.

And they are hungry.

And they want to hear what we have to share.

And so I'm grateful for them and how well they receive us, and they're very respectful.

And the officers, the guards, they keep an eye on us.

So I don't ever feel afraid when I go in.

- That's good, that's good.

So when they decide that they either court mandated or heart mandated that they want to come with you, so let's say, let's follow a lady that comes out of it and goes into your home.

What does the program look like, and how long does she stay?

What things does she have to go through?

- It's a great question.

After they've gone through the whole application process and been vetted, then we do an intake procedure with them, and after they've gone through the intake, and we brought them to the house, we spend the first 40 days, we call it the come and see, and it's a time really of repentance.

We all have that, where we need to realize where did I go wrong?

How did I get to the place where I'm at?

We set goals.

I ask them, what is your goal?

What do you want to do next week?

What do you want to have accomplished?

Sometimes it's I want to get my ID.

They've lost everything.

And when they get to us, the only thing they have to represent who they are in the world is their rap sheet, and the sheet that's their booking sheet.

And that's what we sometimes have to take to the doctor's office to show who they are.

So some of our celebrations are hey, we got our ID now.

And so we'd have our goals that we set, so the first 40 days, it's come and see.

Do you really want to be a part of this, do you really want to be a disciple, do you want to be a part of this community.

And sometimes they walk off.

They don't want to be a part of this process.

But others are sticking with it, and they want this support system.

And they have parenting classes that they take, anger management classes, we have an alcohol and drug counselor that comes in, and he's our clinical supervisor so he helps train us, and he's a great support system for us to have him to train us and teach us, and then to talk with the ladies.

And as he tells them, your chooser's broken.

What's wrong is if they're an addict, it's not just that they've made poor choices, but literally their chemical makeup in their brains is that you've done brain chemistry here.

And so they're needing to get clean, and what we try to remind them is we are a support system.

While they're getting their minds clear, they're allowing us to come alongside of them and help them in their choices to make better choices.

So it's a high accountability house.

So they have these classes they take, the drug and alcohol counseling sessions and classes they take.

They also take Celebrate Recovery, which is a Christian based 12 step program.

And the lady that comes in and teaches that class is also one of our board members, and she's on our board, she serves as an advocate, because she is a former addict, she is in recovery herself, and she can tell them, I know what it's like.

One of the first things she does is bring in her, when she was arrested, her sheet, her picture when she was arrested, and they don't believe it because she's, I tell her, when I look at you, you're one of the purest people that I know.

She has such a pure heart.

And she teaches them that you don't have to stay in this.

There is a way that you can make a difference and get your kids back and get your family back, because she's done it, and she's proven that.

So she's one of those that come in and teach in the home, and we have gardening classes, we have nutrition classes.

We have a nurse that comes in and teaches them nutrition and how to live healthy.

Not just spiritually and emotionally that we need to get healthy, but we need to get healthy physically as well.

- Right, right.

So I know there's, you do some financial training and everything with them to help them to understand their finances and everything.

But I think also you do job placement, don't you?

Like in their last six months or whatever they're with you that you do some job placement with them, help them to get a job, and get back into society?

- Those first six months is about their recovery.

We've learned that we need to be full on, especially with women, that they need to focus on their recovery because there's been a lot of trauma usually that's happened in their life.

And one of the classes that we do is a job readiness class so that they will not be afraid or overwhelmed when they go for that first job interview or to put in an application, that we want to be staying in there right beside them, and you've got this, you can do this.

So at that six month mark, that teacher that's been working with them is going with them, looking at applications, talking to those employers, because there's a lot of people in the community that want to do a second chance, that want to help people that are formerly incarcerated.

So she helps find those in the community that are willing to do that, and when they do that background check, they walk in saying this is who I am and where I've been, but I'm doing different now.

And so we help them to get those jobs.

- That's great.

So in this last 30 seconds that we have, what are some of your needs for the support house?

- There's quite a bit, so if somebody wants to give a little or a lot.

Some of our needs are that we have a van that breaks down on a regular basis.

It would be wonderful if we could get a more reliable vehicle.

We have, my heart's desire is to get a certified counselor and a certified social worker on staff, one that does both would be a dream.

So that is something I'm praying for, and have been mentioning to the board about that's a goal that we have.

We are always, always hiring more house moms in the house, people that want to serve these ladies, and give some tender loving care to them.

We always need hygiene products for women, on our website, www.restore634.com.

There's a place where you can see things that we need, such as feminine products, hygiene.

We have our grocery store order that we get every week, and somebody can go on there and look and even add to that, if they wanted to.

- Oh, that's wonderful.

So Donna, thank you so much for coming in today, and educating me and our viewers on Restore 6:34.

So I just bless you for what you're doing to these women.

- Thank you so much for letting me come in and tell about it.

- And thank you for joining us as well.

We hope Chattanooga Stronger Together offers new perspectives on issues that are important to you.

If you are looking to make a difference in our community, let us know.

Email us at stronger@wtcitv.org, or use the hashtag, StrongerWTCI on social media.

I'm Barbara Marter.

We'll see you next time.

(bright uplifting music) - [Announcer] Support for this program is provided by the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, the Schillhahn-Huskey Foundation and viewers like you.

Thank you.