Lisa Stevens sits calmly in her office, despite being surrounded by a child safety gate, toys, and a persistent bustle. This is not a likely home for an office. Then again, this is not a likely home for a pregnant teen. This is Hope House.

Lisa Stevens, executive director of Hope House of Colorado, has overseen the self-sufficiency program for teen mothers since its start in October of 2000. Being a teen mother herself, and after working with Teen MOPS, a program focusing on teen mothers of preschoolers, Stevens saw an overwhelming need for a long-term program for teenaged mothers.

The Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention estimates that every four hours a baby is born to a Colorado teen between 15 and 17 years old. A large majority of these new parents lack the ability to provide for her and the newborn, while resources in the Colorado community are limited for young mothers under 18 years old. Some teen mothers find themselves hopeless after not finding the help they need to provide for themselves and the child. For Stevens, Hope House of Colorado is about restoring that hope.

Hope House is a Christian organization, and works to break the unhealthy cycles often seen in teenage mothers. These cycles can include poverty, multiple pregnancies at a young age, unsustainable jobs, and abuse. In providing teens with the resources, education and support, Hope House works against these at-risk cycles and instead strives to build self-sustaining young families. Today Hope House houses six young mothers and their children, and is in the process of launching two outreach programs, which will provide the same assistance to the women but without the residential component.

Although Hope House is smoothly running today, its organization was not always so hope filled. Stevens said she often doubted its construction altogether. “There was a time we were working 30 hours a week for free, when nothing seemed to be happening, but every day we had something to do. And when there came a day when there was nothing [left] to do, we’d stop,” Stevens said. Several years later, Stevens and her staff at Hope House have yet to find a day when there is nothing left to do.

The phone rings many times during the short interview with Lisa Stevens. She points out the girls who live in the House currently have chores to do, classes to take, and days to plan. The girls who live here are usually not left much relaxation, as they are required to graduate high school or get their GED, and pursue a career or take college classes. They are not allowed a cell phone or car when first coming into Hope House, and they are expected to follow the rules of the House closely. Personal growth forged from routine and practice are evident in the teen mothers who graduate from Hope House’s two-year program, and the staff often models learned behavior. “In order to keep a job and operate self-sufficiently, they [the girls] need to be able to see what it looks like to operate [that way],” Stevens says.

The program itself consists of five phases that guide the new mothers along to ultimately reach self- sufficiency. Stevens also points out that there are individual growth plans for each girl who enters the program, giving emotional, spiritual, and further guidance. This is an important part of the program, since Stevens estimates that about 80 percent of the girls entering Hope House have been abused. It is just one more of the cycles Hope House expects to break.

Among the live-ins at Hope House today is Nadaya Latil, 21, who has an 18-month-old daughter and is expecting her second child. Latil is in the third phase of the Hope House program, which means she is currently working on everything from self-development to beginning a part-time job. She moved into Hope House in February after the news came about her second unplanned pregnancy. When asked what she would have done if Hope House had not been an option for her and her child, Latil shakes her head. “I don’t know,” she says. An expression of hopelessness crosses her face, and it is clear the resources Hope House provides for Latil are her lifeline. She says of the House, “there are no judgments. Everyone is welcoming, helpful.” Clearly Latil is in the environment of success that nurtures self-development for mother and child.

The tradition of assistance Hope House provides needs to continue. With your help in donations of everything from diapers to automobiles, your time in volunteering, or just learning more about ways you can help in the outreach programs or events, Hope House can have a continuing future in what it does best; providing hope.