I am always keen to share how Mom’s and Mentor’s showed up for me as a young single mom, overwhelmed, exhausted, and feeling stuck. This was all exasperated by the fact I had no family to lean on for support, which left me feeling quite alone. I had wanted to be a nurse for many years but the thought of attending school while trying to
I am always keen to share how Mom’s and Mentor’s showed up for me as a young single mom, overwhelmed, exhausted, and feeling stuck. This was all exasperated by the fact I had no family to lean on for support, which left me feeling quite alone. I had wanted to be a nurse for many years but the thought of attending school while trying to financially support myself and two young children sounded impossible. I originally wanted to apply for the RN program but was afraid I would not financially make it through 4 years of schooling, and needed to be successful for the sake of my children. With this, I decided on applying for the LPN program and was a successful candidate. This is around the time I became more involved with Mom’s and Mentor’s. Though the financial support in the means of a few bursaries proved to be fundamental, it was the community that was the biggest support. Having a community of other moms to lean on was integral and it was even cooler that many of the members at the time were nurses themselves. Having events in the form of lunches, dinners, meetings, etc., in settings where I felt comfortable being myself and having two kids alongside me, gave me something to look forward to and a sense of belonging. Additionally, I met quite a few people who saw me through some difficult times and were there to answer questions or as a shoulder to lean on.