The nonprofit helping pregnant teens finish high school is trying to deal with a loss of more than $700,000 in funding since last year.
Margaret Hudson Program Director Betina Tillman said the biggest impact will be to child care and health services, including students’ ability to visit with nurses.
"These nurses educate them about what to expect not only during the course of pregnancy, but also at the time of delivery," Tillman said. "Also, they work with them in regards to developing parenting skills, well baby exams, connecting them with a pediatrician and making sure that they're able to continue the health care after the baby is born."
2015 grad Alonzia Fairchild said those are the reasons she graduated and is now successfully raising her 2-year-old daughter.
"I'm planning and launching my own home business. I want to be in housekeeping for those elderly people who don't have help," Fairchild said.
The child Emily Scott had while in the program is now 16 years old. Scott said she still thinks about the parenting skills she learned at Margaret Hudson.
"As a new mom, you don't have the maturity and the patience that maybe a 30-year-old mom would have, so that definitely helps you with steps of what can you expect — let's try this step, let's try this step to kind of work through, you know, because kids have tantrums," Scott said.
The program lost nearly equal amounts of state and United Way funding, with $385,000 per year in United Way grants stopping as of Jan. 1. The Margaret Hudson Program has scaled back child care, counseling and administrative staff already.
Margaret Hudson Program needs almost $412,000 to finish the fiscal year in the black, even after making about $600,000 in budget cuts. The program has launched a $200,000 GoFundMe campaign in addition to seeking donations on its website.
Tillman said teen pregnancy is declining, but around 700 high school girls in the Tulsa area still get pregnant each year.
