A Jeremiah Program flyer caught Brittney Strickland’s eye almost two years ago when she was picking up books from the Walbrook Enoch Pratt Free Library with her 10-year-old daughter, Nyla.
Strickland — who was homeschooling her three children, including two young sons with autism — wanted to finish her education and was intrigued by the organization’s promise of support for single moms. There were “no excuses,” she said, since the initial 12-week Empowerment & Leadership course was being hosted online.
Through that introductory program, she met women from across the country.
“Duh, Brittney, you’re not the only mom that wants to go back to school,” said Strickland, 31, who grew up in Baltimore and lives there.
After joining the national nonprofit that coaches single mothers facing poverty through two- and four-year degree programs and helps them care for their children, Strickland graduated in May from Morgan State University with a degree in education and won funding at Jeremiah Program’s March summit to kick-start her business to bolster families whose children have developmental delays.
She’s one of dozens of mothers in Baltimore who have joined Jeremiah Program in pursuit of broadening their horizons since it expanded here in 2022.
“I’m happier now,” Strickland said, reflecting on her time with Jeremiah Program before her graduation. “Sense of accomplishment, I think it does anybody good.”
Since Jeremiah Program’s founding in Minneapolis in 1993, eight additional campuses have opened in Minnesota, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Dakota and Texas, some with on-campus housing.
The organization dedicated to “disrupting generational poverty” works with single mothers of young children who are within 20% of a state’s poverty line, said Chastity Lord, Jeremiah Program’s president and CEO.
In addition to mentorship for moms studying in associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs — and funds that can go toward costs like application fees and books — Jeremiah Program offers support for children, including access to early childhood education programs and a 529 college savings plan managed by the nonprofit, which contributes to the account each semester that a child’s mom is in school.
Nationally, 80% of Jeremiah Program moms are women of color, Lord added.
“We don’t bet on grown women in our country,” she said. “You can’t talk about generational poverty in this country without talking about the role of race and the role of gender.”
Most single moms of color are more likely than their white counterparts to have a household income below the poverty level in the U.S., according to 2022 census estimates. Single moms as a whole are over three times more likely to fall below the poverty line than all U.S. families.
“Anytime you invest in moms, you’re investing in children,” said Danielle Staton, the executive director of Jeremiah Program’s Baltimore campus.
The Baltimore Jeremiah Program partners with Judy Center Early Learning Hubs and St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore, along with other nonprofits. It also offers stipends for summer programming for kids and funding for backup child care, Staton said.
She’s working with 40 moms, 22 of whom are enrolled in degree programs, and 88 children. There have been so many referrals to Jeremiah Program in Baltimore that there’s a waiting list, Staton said.
On June 18, Jeremiah Program will host a graduation celebration for the first four moms in Maryland — including Strickland — to earn a degree.
“What’s really important is really having that community of support. A lot of moms talk about the lack of a village,” Staton said, noting the coronavirus pandemic as a factor that increased isolation. “It really is an opportunity for you to connect with other women in a positive way, and women who are on the same journey as you.”
“At times, honestly, there can be a lot of shame around being a single mom — or even being an older student,” she added.
Strickland began attending Morgan State in 2010, originally studying engineering before shifting her focus to education. Caring and providing for her children meant she eventually put school on the back burner.
But finishing her degree was important to Strickland, who said she wants to be an advocate for kids like her sons, Amir, 6, and Asim, 5, who have autism.
Jeremiah Program’s Early Childhood Education Fellowship paid for Strickland’s tuition. The organization also awarded her $2,500 for placing third at its second annual Spark Tank competition in March, during which Strickland pitched a business concept to “support families of those with developmental delays by providing resources to help reduce achievement and opportunity gaps.”
In the fall, she wants to go back to school to get a second bachelor’s degree in special education at Coppin State University.
“My name is Mommy, but it’s also Brittney,” she said, reflecting on the attention she’s received through Jeremiah Program and the sense of confidence she’s gained.
Melanique Gunthrop, a mother to two daughters under age 5 and five stepchildren with her boyfriend, said the nonprofit has helped her learn more about how she wants to show up as a parent.
“The first year of my daughter’s life, my oldest, was very difficult,” Gunthrop, 29, said. “Because you don’t realize the things that you learned that you have to unlearn, until you have to unlearn them.”
After starting with Jeremiah Program last year, Gunthrop, who lives in East Baltimore, said journaling brought her closer to other moms in her 12-week Empowerment & Leadership course. This spring, she started taking classes at Baltimore City Community College, where she’s studying business management and fashion design.
Gunthrop runs a business she started in 2020, a custom T-shirt brand with a forthcoming premature-baby clothing line called Admire U. She named it after her 4-year-old daughter, Admire, who was born early.
“The idea was to start a company that I could leave to my kid,” Gunthrop said.
Through Jeremiah Program, she’s gained an opportunity to focus on her pursuits. Her coach reminds her to take care of herself, and she connects with other moms in a group chat.
“When you have kids, the first thing they tell you is, ‘Oh, you don’t matter anymore. It’s now all about the baby.’ But that is false information. Because if you don’t matter, how are you going to take care of them kids?” she said.
“I’ve been able to pour into me.”
Baltimore Sun reporter Annie Jennemann contributed to this article.