Success Stories

Teenage Mother Graduates Despite Challenges
by Jennifer Parker, Crossroads News, Inc.

Nicole Williams had a few knocks coming up.

She had two children before she was 16 and ended up in the state foster care system, but with a lot of support, she still made the 2005 graduating class.

"I was very impressed with her faith in herself, and her eagerness and willingness to work harder than some adults who are faced with similar circumstances," Jordan said. As a consultant in partnership with the DeKalb Workforce Development, DeKalb Juvenile Court and DFACs, Jordan is responsible for training, placement and monitoring the employment of youth under her contract. STEM's basic job readiness curriculum lasts six weeks. This year, Jordan has trained and placed about 255 youth who are in DFACs custody.

Nicole credits Mamie Smith, her fourth foster mother, with helping her reach her goal. She began living with Smith in February, at a critical time in her school career.

"She was there for me," Nicole said. "She kept telling me she loved me. She treated me like one of her children."

Smith, who has been a foster mother in Georgia for 10 years, said she got Nicole at the right time in her life.

"She wanted to finish school." Smith said. "It was available and she was willing. She put forward the effort and we supported her." Smith said Nicole also saw that finishing high school would help her create a better life for her children.

If that wasn't enough, Nicole also completed a job readiness training program through the Selective Training and Employment Ministry program, an independent nonprofit that offers employ ability skill training and job placement service to teens, and started a new job cleaning airplanes at Hart field-Jackson Airport.

When she enrolled in the STEM program, she made an immediate impression on its president and director, Vermell Jordan.

Nicole, who had her mind set on succeeding long before she entered the state's Independent Living Program (ILP) supervised by DeKalb County DFACS, was one of several youth in STEM and ILP who were honored by Gov. Sonny Perdue in a celebration at the Fox Theatre on June 16.

"There are thousands of at-risk youth who need help with employment, and it's impossible for state case managers and juvenile court staff to meet this critical need for youth without partners in the business community," Jordan said.

Jordan said she works with employers who are seeking well-trained young people, and her job is to help Nicole and others like her, prepare for entry-level employment and independent living.

"This is what faith-based programs are supposed to do, that is, meet the needs of God's people in a way that improves the individuals and their quality of living," Jordan said. "It is impossible for a young person to live independently of public assistance today without being gainfully employed."

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