SUPER MOM
Foundling program alum comes back to give back
Nadia Owens is giving back to the New York Foundling’s Mother/ Child program.
That’s the same program that helped her many years ago when, as a pregnant 15-year-old, she was kicked out of her parents’ home.
“I was told that I could put my baby up for adoption and stay home or I had to figure out where to go,” Owens recalled.
“I went to a hospital for prenatal care and ended up crying to a nurse,” she continued. “She connected me with a social worker that told me about the New York Foundling Hospital. She said, ‘You can keep your baby.’ And I said, ‘I’m there.’”
Now in its 40th year, the Foundling’s Mother/Child program invites pregnant girls or young mothers ages 14-21 to live at its headquarters in Manhattan in a dorm setting or in apartment housing in the Bronx.
The goal is to teach the mothers how to live independently and become responsible parents. The young women are coached in skills that include how to properly feed infants and children, what to do when their children are sick, which essential immunizations their children should receive and how to find those immunizations.
Participants receive a weekly allowance and are taught how to manage a budget, shop for groceries and cook.
“The program teaches young mothers the skills and lifelong lessons that most girls learn from their families before becoming adults,” explained Bill Baccaglini, CEO of the New York Foundling. “It’s not an easy program to run, because these kids are both mothers and teenagers.”
When Owens was with the program, she graduated from high school six months early with the help of Foundling’s day-care center, which watched her daughter during the day. Foundling also helped Owens prepare for a civil service test and get her first job, working as a clerk for the Social Security Administration. By age 17, she was paying her own rent, sharing an apartment in Queens, and putting her child in day care.
“It was a difficult task, but the Foundling really helped me,” she notes. “When you have children, you want to be a role model for them. I wanted to do something to make them proud and inspire them to want to do more.”
Owens’ story is certainly inspiring. Today, the married homeowner lives in Queens and is vice president of human resources at a medical device manufacturer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s in human resources management.
Her two children are equally successful. Owens’ daughter — the one she was pregnant with at 15 — graduated from NYU and is a senior financial analyst at a fashion company. Her son graduated from Hofstra University with an engineering degree and is attending Syracuse University to earn his master’s and Ph.D. in mechanical and aeronautical engineering.
“I wanted to give back to the organization that helped me. I wanted to do something to help give other teens the opportunity. I want to help and inspire other young mothers,” said Owens, who volunteers for the program and recently spoke about her journey at its 40th anniversary celebration.
“The staff that works in our programs creates a bond and a tie that persists,” said Baccaglini. “They are responsible for the mother and the baby. They nurture both these kids and their babies. The emotional tie is strong.”
He said that Foundling’s Mother/Child Manhattan facility has room for as many as 14 mothers and their babies at a time. The program is growing their space to accommodate more young mothers, and hopes to close on another residential facility in a few weeks.
“Our goal is to get them back out to their own families, but it’s easier said than done,” Baccaglini added. “The length of stay in the Mother/Child program is longer than it is in the Foundling’s other programs.
“We like to think that we’re making tomorrow brighter for kids and families more so than yesterday,” he concludes.
For more information about The New York Foundling's Mother/Child program, call Jennifer Aguilar at 212-206-4124 or visit www.nyfoundling.org.