Community Outreach Shelter for Teenage Parents
Community Outreach Shelter for Teenage Parents
Introduction
The number of teenage parents has considerably risen over the years. School going girls still in their teen years have had their dreams of furthering their education to become productive members in the society shattered once they become pregnant. These teenagers are faced with the task of raining babies when they are hardly adults themselves. This means that they are in many instances forced to discontinue their education and focus on finding jobs so as to support their children. Without any meaningful academic papers the teenage mothers have not been able to find any meaningful job that will guarantee a comfortable life for their children. The establishment of community outreach shelters for teenage parents will therefore ease the difficult life that most teenage mothers and their children face. With the establishment of the outreach shelter, these teenage mothers and their children will have a place to fall back to in case they need assistance (Hammerslogh, 2001). The shelter will give them a second chance to life, a chance to get back on their feet and be able to accomplish their dreams. Having identified my business venture to be the establishment of the shelter for teen parents, the term paper will give an overview of the feasibility test of the business venture and finally determine whether the business is worth venturing into or not.
Industry Attractiveness
The need to establish a shelter for teenage parents is dire. In the country today, many organizations have established shelters to cater for pregnant teenagers but what happens when they decide to keep the pregnancy and finally give birth to the baby. The focus on teenagers only when they are pregnant is not completes. It should go all the way to focus on the teenage mothers and how they will survive as teenage mothers in this competitive and challenging world. A study conducted in the state indicated a clear disparity between the number of shelters that offer assistance to the pregnant teenagers and those that offer refuge to the teenage mothers (Hammerslogh, 2001). Just like the pregnant teenager is at risk in terms of pregnancy complications and requires assistance, the teenage mother equally needs a helping hand in terms of getting on in life as a parent.According to Hammerslogh, 2001, one of every three teen mothers drop out school, since they have no job they have no means of providing for their children and a further 48% live in adverse poverty.62 of the teen parents rely on public programs for services such as food, medical aid, baby health care and food products as well as helter. There is need to cater for the teen parents to help alleviate her problems and enable her to rise above her problems, proceed with her education and become an independent individual (Hammerslogh, 2001).
The teenage mothers need direction on the way forward in terms of leading a sustainable life and supporting her child. Still a child herself she is need of a helping hand to see her through. The establishment of community outreach shelter for teenage parents will therefore not only be important but also essential for teenage mothers who are trying to make out some significant effort in their life. The decision to keep or terminate a pregnancy lies on the hands of the teenager, therefore after birth it is important that they teenager mother still has a place which she can seek assistance. In many instances the father of the child, who is mostly a teenager as well is also not in a position to cater for his young family. The teenage mother is therefore let alone to fend for her baby. A community outreach shelter will therefore be the best alternative for the teenage mother. The teenage mother requires encouragement, resources and practical assistance that will enable her support her child.With reference to porters five forces of an industry analysis, the concept of rivalry will not affect the outcome of the shelter. The shelter aims at improving the lifestyle of the teenage parents and giving them a new direction once they have their child in their lives. The shelter will however prove worth it if it is located in a region where there are hardly any shelters for teenage mothers (Kanel, 2011). It will mean that the teen parents of that geographical region will have found another shelter to seek assistance other than utilizing and straining the few shelters and programs in the region. The establishment of the shelter will therefore not be seen as competitive rivalry but as a necessary institution to assist the many teenage parents in the society.On threats of substitutes, the shelter will aim at providing the best of services. This will be possible through the health and medical care of the pregnant teenagers to the care and medical attention given to the mother, child as well as to the teen father. The shelter will focus on giving an all rounder solution to all the problems that the teenage parent may face. This means that financial assistance will be available to those that wish to receive training so that they are more sustainable and independent, education assistance will be offered to those that wish to proceed with their studies and parental lessons will be offered to these teen parents. By offer in an all round service under the same roof the shelter will remain relevant to the society.
Market timeliness
On a scale of one to five the industrial venture is ranked as 5 in terms of the need of such services to the community. Children of today are more sexually active than in the past. In turn more of them are prone to pregnancy and parenthood at a tender age (Hammerslogh, 2001). These teenage parents are not in a position to effectively cater for the needs of their offspring and as a result they rely on external help. Though some teenagers are lucky enough to rely on their parents and relative support, not all can get this support. This is so especially for those teenagers who come from poor economic backgrounds or broken homes. Though there are other homes such as Mary’s Homes and faiths homes for teenage mothers, the presence of our shelter will be an addition to the numerous shelters already running. However, the presence of more shelters will not be detrimental to the overall service provision but will enhance the chances of a teenage parent finding a suitable shelter for her and her child.
Purpose of the Outreach Shelter
The community outreach shelter will cater for the teenage mothers. In many instance the teenage mothers come from broken homes which in many instances the teenage mother lived with her single mother. Many teenagers unconsciously make the decision to be mothers as they see it to be the right thing to do. However with motherhood comes the major responsibility of taking care of the child. In many instances the immediate kin are not well off and can not effectively support the teenage mother and her child (Kanel, 2011). Even with the economic strain the teenage mother will still be determined to keep the child and adoption is not an option. With this in mind it crucial that these teenage mothers are assisted in every way possible to raise their child. Assistance should come in terms of long term solutions such as assistance to the teenage mother to further her education, availability of training facilities for the teenage mother so that she can acquire some skills that will enable her earn a living for herself and child.A community outreach centre for teenage mothers will offer counseling for the mothers as she struggles to bring up her child. Teenage mothers have high expectation of their child and may often get frustrated and experience mood swings (Hammerslogh, 2001). It is not certain what the teenage mo0ther might do if in a bad mood, the outreach shelter will therefore act as her stronghold giving with officials giving her guidance and advise on how best to handle the situations that face her.By establishing the outreach centre for teen mothers at various geographical locations in the country, the teen parents can benefit immensely from education and training that will see them finish their education and find a job that will support their child; the teen parents will also receive training on child care. Majority of the teen mothers usually have no clue on how to take care of the child and the situation gets worse in instances where the child gets unwell and require medical attention. By establishing the outreach shelter we shall be able to hire educators and keep an open line of communication between the shelter and the teen mother.
This way the teen mother will be assured of our assistance round the clock (Liese, 2009). While the outreach shelter for teen mothers will focus on assisting the teen mother to get back on her feet and sustain her life and that of the child, the shelter shall also focus on provision of health care. The mother just like the child requires healthy care so that she can be able to move on with their life after child birth. The outreach shall focus on the provision of contraceptive option fop these teenage mums. Since they are sexually active, the shelter shall embark on n effort of teaching them how to lead a sexually responsible lifestyle, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases as well as avoiding other unplanned pregnancies.The community outreach shelter will also aim at reuniting the teenage mother with their families. The number of teenage mums in need of the shelters services is expected to be on the high. Therefore, it is expected that once the teen mother has been sufficiently trained and it has been proven that she can get back to her feet in terms of proceeding with her education and future, the shelter will focus on mending broken families. In most instances the teenage mothers that seek community outreach shelter assistance have no one to turn to. The shelter will focus on reconciling these families so that the teen mother has family support. Having acknowledge the need to carry the child to term, given birth and began to raise the child, family support is essential to ensure that she has all family members to help her out.
Operational and Economic Viability
The economic viability of the community shelter will be based on mainly donor funding. Many institutions recognize the need to have an outreach shelter for teen mothers to assist them after they have given birth to their children. These institutions are expected to be the min donors. Parents and the community as well are expected to also play a significant tool in funding the activities of the shelter. Since the community outreach shelter for teen mothers will aim at serving the teen mothers of that community, it is only natural that the parents and the adults of the community will chip in financially to assist the project succeeded. Assistance will not only be in monetary terms but also in terms of individual voluntary services to the shelter. Since the shelter will temporarily offer housing shelter for the teen mother, it is expected that a little bit of manpower will be required to smoothly run the shelter. Since the shelter will be a non profit organization, the voluntary assistance of the community members will be appreciated. Professional personnel such as gynecologist will be required to also volunteer a few hours of their service to the teen mothers who cannot afford the medical consultation for health services (Kanel, 2011). Operating expenses in the shelter will be achieved through the generous donation of private donors, individuals and organizational donors as well as fundraisings and community gala shows that will be hosted in the state with the proceedings going to the community outreach shelter for teen mothers. The shelter shall focus mainly on acquisition of more private supporters of the project. The other major source of funds will be the government. Applications and requests will be made to the government for subsidies and financial assistance to get the project off its feet and offer assistance to one of the most vulnerable groups in the community (Liese, 2009).
Support needed for the Venture
The community shelter for teenage parents intends to be a non profit organization that aims at improving the living condition of the teenage parents and improving the ability to sustain them as they embark on the journey of parenthood. First and foremost the main support that is needed for the venture involves the use of involvement of the parents and the adult population of the community. The teen parents are the children of that community (Hammerslogh, 2001). As much as it is assumed that they have messed their lives, the involvement and participation of the parents in helping the shelter to assist the teenage parents get back on their feet is crucial. The teen parents need to feel accepted. Stigmatization over an error that resulted to them becoming parents is unnecessary for both the parent and the child. Once the child is born, the well being of the child and the progressing of the dreams of the teenager parents should be the main focus of attention and the participation of the community is essential. The community can be involved through volunteering at the shelter, offering of financial and material donations as well as moral support to the teenage parents that are trying to collect back their lives with their child in hand.Government support is also crucial for the sustainability of the community shelter for teenage parents. Being anon profit organization, the shelter will not ask for payment of any services offered to the teenage parents. Government financial intervention is therefore crucial for the smooth running of the activities of the shelter. Individual and organization financial assistance is also important to boost the government subsidies
Management prowess
The establishment for the community outreach shelter for teen parents will be founded and managed by board of directors that have worked for similar shelters and children for a minimum of five years. The board of directors will comprise of at least ten members, chaired by a president and vice president. The board of directors will be responsible for hiring and firing of the permanent staff of the shelter (Hammerslogh, 2001). They will also be responsible for the actions and decision made for the good of the shelter. The shelter will also have a panel of advisors. The advisors who will work on a voluntary basis will mainly be from the financial sector for purposes of offering adviser on the resources of the shelter, another advisor will be from the health sector whose sole purpose will be to advise the health practitioners as well as the teenage parents on proper healthy habits and lifestyle. An advisor on the medical department will be responsible for leading a team of education facilitators in advising the teenage parents on how to go about completing their academic dreams while at the same time fulfilling their parental role.
The shelter will also be headed by an executive director who will be skilled in business management; he/she should also be well experienced in the management of business enterprises having held a leadership post in previous employment. There also will be a program coordinator who will foresee the smooth running of activities within the shelter. Other leadership roles that will have to be filled before the shelter begins include; program coordinator, facilities and volunteer coordinator, medical services coordinator and the child development and parenting coordinator. The coordinators will oversee the ground activities of the shelters in the various departments of the shelter (Kanel, 2011).Currently we have 15 individuals ready to take various leadership roles once the shelter opens to the public. Among the fifteen, seven are board member, two are advisors, and one is the executive director who has an MBA as well as an advance diploma in child psychology. Having been a full time child psychologist we believe she is best placed to manage the shelter while at the same time assisting in counseling and advising the teenage parents. The coordinators for the main departments have also been filled.
Conclusion
A community outreach shelter for teen parents will benefit the community in enabling the teenage parents acquire value and purpose for their lives after childbirth. The shelter will counsel the teenage parent, advises her on how to take care of the child, sees her through education and training in an effort to ensuring that the teenager because independent and confident to face life by her self. Individual and organizational funding is already forthcoming and this means that we are economically ready to host the teenagers that will be in need of our services. The hospitals around the state have also promised to volunteer their services when we need them. The education facilities have also promised to cater for the academic needs of the teenage parents by fully supporting their readmission back into the school system. The establishment of the community outreach shelter for teen parents therefore passes the feasibility test. The establishment of the shelter will be effective in assisting the teenage parents get back on their feet, finish their educations and find jobs to sustain themselves.
Reference
Hammerslogh, J. (2001). Everything you need to know about teen motherhood. The Rosen Publishing Group
Kanel, K. (2011). A Guide to Crisis Intervention. Cengage Learning
Liese, H. (2009). Finding meaning in civically engaged scholarship. IAP
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