Words by Smiley Team
Generation Hope - a community non-profit based in D.C, Washington - works tirelessly to reduce poverty one family at a time by helping teen parents access mentoring resources and services throughout the DC area, supporting them to become college graduates and help their children access education. The pandemic, however, is having a significant impact on the families they support, highlighting the disparities which already existed in society and making it difficult for them to access the help they need.
Founded in 2010, Generation Hope now serves 91 teenage parents and their children in the D.C. area, almost all of whom are considered low income. Also, 74% are first-generation college students. Many of the young people they support have experienced homelessness or abuse, been in the care system or experienced food insecurity.
Generation Hope has a high success rate throughout its scholarship programmes. Despite falling additional challenges, teen parents supported by the programme have a graduation rate on track with the national average, regardless of income or whether they have children. Impressively, the graduation rate is double the rate of low-income college students and almost nine times the graduation rate of single mothers worldwide.
The pandemic has impacted Scholars in a variety of ways, from the closure of college campuses and a move towards digital learning which has revealed the inequities in access to technology which makes it difficult or impossible for students to complete their courses.
In 2018, all of Generation Hope’s scholars were living above the poverty line within sixth months of graduation, with 92% being employed full-time and 30% enrolled in graduate school. However, the financial impact of the crisis has been huge on the young people Generation Hope supports, with nine scholars having lost their job by early March alone. Finding jobs in the post-pandemic world will be incredibly difficult for these young people, putting them at significant risk.
It is not only the Scholars themselves that are being impacted, but also their children as Pre-K and schools close across the country. Many Scholars are unable to work from home and are at risk of losing their jobs if they are unable to go into work and the lack of technology can hinder their children’s learning.
To help with this, Generation Hope is helping to connect Scholars with a variety of resources, such as wifi hotspots and laptops which help them to continue their learning at home. Additionally, the charity is helping the Scholars to navigate the rapidly changing assistance programs and making referrals to the relevant supporting bodies.
Long term, they are building a policy agenda which will focus on supporting student parents through the systemic challenges students will face over the next months.
To help support the work of Generation Hope and to ensure student parents and their children can survive these difficult times, you can donate here.
By Ellen Jones
