A Tale of Two Sisters

I got a phone call this afternoon from one of our workers, informing me that if I thought I convince Allie & Emma not to leave, I had half an hour to do so.

I have been known to be able to convince men and women on the brink of quitting to stay. However, I knew these girls would not be swayed.

Two sisters. Both having moved in only two weeks ago. Both pregnant and due at the same time. Both having racked up over 20 demerits.

The demerits say it all. We usually evict after 6 or so, but with these girls, our Program Manager wanted to give them a chance. Since there is no waiting list right now, I had no problem with trying her experiment.

Meetings with their staff sponsors indicated they were going to start setting an alarm and getting up for breakfast and for class. They would have better attitudes. One of them was going to work alongside me for the day to wipe off a whackload of demerits.

And we were going to be generous with taking them off, IF they showed an effort. Just a bad start to a program. They're not used to structure or discipline. They didn't have an alarm clock. They're pregnant.

But when Larry called me, I knew the demerits told the real story. The story of bad attitudes and wanting a clean place to live, but not wanting to participate in the things which make for a healthy, family-style environment.

And so, now, they have left for another town, along with the common-law father of one of the babies. Mark was also enrolled in the LifeChange Program.

We can fill the beds easily enough. There are many other women who want a chance at changing their lives.

But those unborn babies we've been praying for each day. What of their chance to life?