Published: May 08, 2008 10:24 am            

Family comes together with help from Angels Cove center

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By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — When Gabby Young discovered she was pregnant at the age of 17, she knew her life would change — but she never expected the joys, happiness and hard work being a mother would bring.

“I had gotten pregnant, and me and my mom had a rough relationship,” Young recalled. “She and my grandmother worked to pick a place I could go as far away from Chicago as possible.”

Gabby traveled to Mt. Vernon to Angels Cove maternity center — and away from her boyfriend, Justin.

Gabby is one of many women who pass through the nonprofit center every year. At Angels Cove, the young women receive counseling, schooling, classes on child care, and the opportunity to decide if they want to continue to parent their children or give them up for adoption. The annual benefit for the maternity center will be held starting at 5 p.m. Friday at Logan Street Baptist Church with an Italian dinner served from 5 to 7 p.m., a dessert auction and a concert featuring Amanda Sheridan, Jared Mitchell, Shades of Calvary, Royal Promise and others.

For Gabby, the center gave her the chance to get her life in order before bringing another life into the world.

“I was two months pregnant in June 2006,” Gabby said. “And I was angry. It was so far away, out in the boondocks out in the country. I didn’t even call my parents until September, I was so mad.”

But the one person who called twice a day and visited Gabby once a month at the center was Justin.

“At first, the whole point of her moving away was to get her away from me or teach a lesson,” Justin said. “I called all I could and visited when I could. I was coping with all that.”

Gabby said at the center, she started receiving counseling right away.

“They said I had time to cool off and that I needed to contact my family,” Gabby remembered. “They told me he couldn’t call or visit until I called my family, so I did.”

Gabby said the counselors were right.

“My mom was cool,” she said. “She started talking to me and being very excited about the baby. It worked out.”

Justin was proving to be something special as well.

“My houseparents told me to be realistic,” Gabby said. “They told me it was good that he calls and visits, but not to get my hopes up. All the other girls had boyfriends, then within one to two months of their baby being born, something would happen and they would split up. Part of the reason I didn’t talk to my family was because they kept saying he was just going to disappear.”

Gabby said she needed the time to prepare for her son Jaylin’s birth.

“I wasn’t a little kid person,” Gabby admitted. “I’d always said I wouldn’t have any kids and I’d never get married. But I decided to keep the baby, and I knew I needed to know how to do that.”

As part of a select community at Angel’s Cove, Gabby learned how to clean, do chores, cook and do those “menial jobs that you don’t think about when you’re a mom.” In addition, she received financial counseling with real-world experience on how to manage a budget.

“The other girls were going through the same thing, and we supported each other,” she said.

Gabby started working on weekends after Jaylin was born. In addition, she took courses at Rend Lake College to be a certified nurse’s assistant.

“I figured if I took the CNA class, I could get a job wherever I needed and take care of Jaylin,” Gabby said. “Getting a perfect grade on the CNA is unheard of, but when I got my paper, my instructor told me I had 100 percent and wrote on the paper I would be an excellent nursing candidate and should go on. I really didn’t want to because my mom is in the medical field, my aunt is a nurse and several other family members are nurses. I didn’t want to be a nurse. But I went ahead and took the nurse’s test and scored a 98 percent. I decided it must be a sign.”

After she got in the nursing program at Rend Lake, Justin decided to come to Mt. Vernon to be with his family — and marry the mother of his son.

“I was in Chicago and they were here,” Justin said. “It has been hard all around — having a house together, finding a job, taking care of Jaylin while she worked and is in school.”

Justin was able to get a job at Continental Tire North America to support his family and give Gabby the opportunity to continue her education.

“Angels Cove prepared her more than it did me,” Justin admitted. “She’s way ahead of me in being a good parent and taking care of everything.”

Gabby said for those women who find themselves at the center, they get as much help “as they want to get.”

“They have to want to participate, want to learn, want to work at it,” Gabby said. “Now I’m glad I went there.”

The benefit for Angels Cove on Friday is one of the main fundraising activities for the center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 3 to 12 years old. Tickets to the concert only are $5. Tickets are available at Angels Cove or at the door.

Additional information about the services offered at the center or about the benefit is available by calling 242-4944 or online at www.bchfs.com.

        

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