JEREMIAH PROGRAM

College is hard – a demanding schedule of courses, papers and exams, all balanced with internships or a part-time job.

Imagine trying to earn that degree while single-parenting one or two young children. Without a strong support system, steady income, affordable housing and affordable childcare, it quickly becomes almost impossible.

That’s where Jeremiah Program comes in. The national organization, based out of Minneapolis-St. Paul, is a non-profit dedicated to helping single moms and their children out of poverty. Jeremiah Program provides apartments, early childhood education and childcare, courses in empowerment and life skills, and a supportive environment. With these supports in place, women accepted into the program take year-round, full-time college courses to complete a two- or four-year degree, while working a part-time job.

Once they graduate from college, they transition out of Jeremiah Program. With a college degree, the women can now earn enough to support their families and they’ve established a support system to keep them on track.

“The whole goal is to get women financially independent, so they can support themselves and their children,” said Jeremiah Program Fargo-Moorhead executive director Diane Solinger. “It’s inspiring to get to know these women. We provide the network of services to help them, but they do all the work.”

This opportunity to help women lift their families out of poverty is exactly the reason FargoMoorhead began developing their own chapter of Jeremiah Program in 2009. In late fall 2016, the program plans to open the first Fargo-Moorhead campus, a building featuring 20 apartments, an on-site child development center, a community room, classrooms and offices.

“There is a significant need in Fargo-Moorhead,” said Mary Lou Dahms of Fargo, who has served with Jeremiah Program since 2009 and is now chair of the local board. “There are close to 2,000 single mothers living in poverty. When I think of those women trying to raise children and wanting to be able to further their lives, it seems like a no-brainer to try to do something to help them.”

Jeremiah Program Fargo-Moorhead didn’t wait for a building to start offering programs. Volunteers taught the first Life Skills classes in 2012, helping women with everything from parenting and budgeting to self-care and career development. In 2014, more volunteers led the first Empowerment Program, an 11-week course that helps women focus on making positive choices for themselves and their children. Each program has graduated 20 women.

Tiffany Sundeen, an associate pastor at Olivet Lutheran Church, Fargo, is one of three volunteers who teach the twice-yearly Empowerment Program.

“These moms are everyday heroes facing daily struggles that are unknown to most people. They discover they can handle anything that comes their way through empow- erment concepts and tools,” Sundeen said. “I believe the empowerment approach is what creates the lasting change. It goes way beyond transitional housing and a childcare program. It truly transforms a person for good.”

The Empowerment Program had such an effect on Courty Evanson, 24, of Fargo.

Evanson, mom of Aden, 4, joined Jeremiah Program in 2012 after learning about it on Facebook. She took the Life Skills program and then Empowerment, while adjusting to new motherhood and earning her LPN at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Jeremiah Program courses helped her become a better mother, grow in confidence and face her fears, she said.

“I love the idea of Jeremiah Program and being able to have the support of other single mothers and a life coach, all while trying to juggle being a single mom and going to college,” Evanson said.

Through her Jeremiah Program involvement, Evanson also earned a life-changing scholarship to attend the 2014 North Dakota Women’s StartUp Weekend in Fargo. She overcame her fear of public speaking and pitched to hundreds of people her product idea for a massage-style lactation table. She won first place.

Since then, Evanson has created her own company, InnovativeMother, earned several awards and been accepted into prestigious entrepreneurial programs. This fall, when Aden started preschool, his mom returned to college to earn her associates degree in entrepreneurship – all while running her new business.

“I would encourage other single mothers to consider living at Jeremiah Program,” Evanson said. “I would strongly suggest completing the Empowerment Program because it can give you the foundation to success.”

For more information about Jeremiah Program Fargo-Moorhead or to get involved, visit www. jeremiahprogram.org/locations/fargo-moorhead or contact Diane Solinger at 701-793-5616. [AWM]