TRAVERSE CITY -- Down a hallway at Traverse City High School is a classroom full of comfy couches, toys and racks of baby clothes.
It's not an ordinary classroom, but it's where students at the alternative school learn life lessons. Shelley Burnes meets them here during a critical point in their young lives: pregnancy or new parenthood.
"We talk about our issues as moms... . We look at the paper, and find what jobs are out there. We focus on needs, and we also have a strong connection," said Burnes, who coordinates The Doula Program.
For Libby Ockert, it's a place where she fits, an oasis in a world ill-equipped for motherhood at age 18. Libby and Peter Gary, 19, had a baby boy four months ago. Peter felt the "social isolation," but here the couple relates with other teen parents.
"You don't feel so alone. You just have to know how to find resources," Libby said.
They aren't alone. In Grand Traverse County, 74 girls ages 15 to 19 gave birth in 2006. Another 21 had an abortion and an estimated 17 experienced a miscarriage. Libby and Peter take joy in their son, how cuddly and playful he is, but they also anticipate the struggles of teen parenting.
Read more about teen parents in today's Well-Being section »
Print this story
E-mail this story
