Our Impact

Renee, a first-time parent, chose to participate in PAT with her daughter, Ava,
because she wanted to improve her life and learn more about early childhood
development to help improve her parenting skills; previously, she struggled
with substance abuse and homelessness. During home visits, the parent
educator from PAT facilitated developmentally appropriate activities with
Renee and her daughter and shared various parenting community resources.
Consequently, Renee began attending a gardening group where she learned
about healthy eating and cooking and started participating in a parent-child
group program with Ava. Renee’s participation in Parents as Teachers has
allowed Renee to give Ava a stable environment to learn and grow.
“I am learning about age appropriate
activities and how
to be patient with Ava.”

Two of Kirsten’s three children have gone through the free NC Pre-K program. When Kirsten discovered NC Pre-K, she was a single mom, trying to make ends meet, with the majority of her paycheck going to child care. She was thrilled to find a free, early education program that taught her boys skills like early math, phonics, and socialization—skills they would need to start Kindergarten. Also, knowing her kids were in a safe, high-quality program gave her the time and peace of mind to focus on starting her own business. Kirsten is grateful such a program exists and is thrilled the kids are exposed to different cultures, music, food, and more. Because Kirsten is such an excellent NC Pre-K spokesperson, WCSS asked her to advocate at the legislative building for The Leandro Plan, which, if passed, would provide significant funding for Pre-K and other early childhood services across North Carolina.

Cristina, young mother of two children, Olivia and Lucas, was referred to Crianza con Cariño through Wake Connections, our intake and referral system. Two years ago, Cristina lost custody of her daughter and spent time in prison. Once released, the Judge ordered her to take parenting classes to regain custody. It was then that she began the parenting class at Crianza con Cariño. As Cristina progressed with the classes, she showed positive changes in her parenting skills. In December of that year, Cristina regained full custody of her daughter– reuniting the family in time for the holidays.

Angel recently moved to Raleigh and was referred to Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS) through Wake Connections, a Wake County Smart Start intake program. Both of Angel’s parents were deceased, and her sister lives across the country in California, so she had a very limited support system when she became a parent. In her initial interview, she expressed feelings of isolation, lack of confidence in her parenting, and having no friends. PEPS helped her find support. She learned how to ask for help and how to open up more with others. She even sought support for her partner who was experiencing postpartum depression. Angel participated actively in her group and made great strides.