Opening Doors for Her Family's Future

Ashlie was pregnant with her second child, and living in her parents’ home when she decided to take some advice from her sister. She joined CVCAC’s Head Start program. “At the time, I was still trying to accept being pregnant again,” recalls Ashlie, “I hoped Head Start could help me and the baby get started right early on.”

As a pregnant mom, she enrolled in Early Head Start which serves children ages birth to 3 and provides prenatal counseling through weekly home visits. At first—while still pregnant—Ashlie and Lisa, her home visitor, reviewed breathing, handouts, and birth class notes. Then, daughter Zayden arrived, “She was born the morning of our meeting. So, we took a week off and then went right back!”

Zayden tried her first food during a visit with Lisa—sweet potatoes. Other times they incorporated music, activities to develop gross and fine motor skills, or worked on infant sign language to help pre-verbal Zayden communicate. Fresh from a weekend outing with Head Start families to a nearby Randolph farm, they read farm books together.

“Lisa helped me to be more involved with Zayden than I would have been,” reflects Ashlie, “Talking with her all the time, even when she was little.”

Zayden is Ashlie’s second child; her son Zechariah is 6 years older. Not surprisingly, her approach to parenting transformed with time. “It’s like being a new mom all over again because you’re older and it was different. I’m reading to Zayden all the time and I’m much more hands on.” And, Ashlie points to Head Start as helping her to be the parent she wants to be—developing new parenting skills and learning how to deal with different situations, even improve her relationship with her older son. “We used to get along more like siblings—fight, fight, fight. Now, we communicate better.”

A lot changed for Ashlie and her family in the year and half after she started Head Start—more than just being a second time mom. “Working with Lisa has kept me motivated,” explains Ashlie. She moved to her own apartment, and then a second, larger apartment. She enrolled in Bonnie CLAC and was able to purchase a new reliable car. She moved to one full-time job because she “sees how important it is to have more stability and structure for my kids.”

Now, she’s planning to attend CVCAC’s financial education workshops in Randolph.

“I have been so impressed with Ashlie’s drive and determination,” says Lisa. “She has accomplished so much in the last year or so and I know it hasn’t been easy. It’s one of the best parts of my job in Early Head Start—watching the children grow and seeing the parents achieve their goals.”

So, though Ashlie may seem like a “typical” single mom—struggling to support two kids, living in a subsidized apartment, juggling work responsibilities—she’s come a long way.

Ashlie has opened doors for her family’s future with help from her parents, now just a few miles down the road, and community resources like Head Start.

Nowadays, Ashlie’s Head Start involvement is much more than visits from Lisa. Since last fall, she’s the president of her area’s Parent Group which welcomes new families, provides workshops and activities for parents and plans family outings. Ashlie also serves on the Head Start Policy Council which makes major policy decisions concerning all CVCAC Head Start operations, and was voted by her peers to serve on the regional Vermont Head Start Association board. “Policy Council is important because I have a better idea of what’s going on…and it makes me feel more comfortable as a parent.”

Taking a leadership role means giving a great deal of time and energy to help ensure that parents and young children are able to find the same resources and support that have made a difference for her own family. Many might not be willing to make the effort.

For Ashlie, it’s a no brainer: “Head Start is helping build my family’s future.”

Click here to learn more about CVCAC's Head Start and Early Head Start programs.