NEW BRAUNFELS -- Texas ranks number four in the nation in the number of teen pregnancies. Every year, 17,000 babies are born to Texas teens ages 13 to 17. An innovative program in Comal County is helping some of these girls and their children through a tough time.
One-year-old Julian is a happy, healthy child with his whole life ahead of him. The same could be said for his teen mother, Bryanna Galvan. She’s one of eight girls living with their babies at St. Jude’s Ranch for Children outside New Braunfels.
The program takes in young mothers who are in state custody and gives them a safe, loving environment to live in until they can be on their own.
“Our phones are ringing off the hook. We are busting at the seam,” said New Braunfels Campus Director Kimberly Chavis. “We turn away probably one to two referrals a day for girls who need placement.”
The center is celebrating $300,000 in donations that will expand the program from eight teen moms and their babies to 12. In addition to monetary donations, St. Jude’s needs basics like clothes and diapers.
“When the girls arrive, many times they come only with the clothes that they’re wearing,” explained St. Jude’s Chief Executive Officer Christine Spandafor. “Without a toothbrush. Without a comb.”
The girls pitch in with chores and the cooking. They follow strict house rules. In exchange, they’re taught how to parent and to aim high.
Galvan is heading for college this summer. “I want to become a pharmaceutical technician,” she stated. “So that’s what I’m going to school for. I just want a good life for me and my son.”
The addition to the New Braunfels pregnant and teen parenting program should be complete in three or four months.
