A Second Chance at Motherhood
Samantha’s Journey to Recovery
“The gratitude I have for this place…” Sitting in the art studio at HomeFront, an emergency shelter, Samantha shakes her head, searching for the right words. “Everyone here has been incredible.”
In just three months, Samantha has gone from one of the most desperate situations she could imagine to living in a calm, caring environment where her needs, and those of her children, are finally being met. “I am so thankful to be here,” she says.
A young mother of three sons, Samantha is beginning to feel hopeful about her family’s future.
Earlier this summer, she was pregnant and living in a hotel and struggling with substance use. As her due date approached, she knew something had to change. “I started calling around, trying to find a program that would take me,” she recalls. “But when I told them I was eight months pregnant, no one would help. And then I called For My Baby and Me.”
A Special Collaboration
For My Baby and Me (FMBAM) is a collaborative program that provides opioid treatment, medical care and housing for pregnant women or new mothers and their children. The program brings together several partners: Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton; Capital Health; Trenton Health Team; Henry J. Austin Health Center; Rescue Mission and HomeFront.
Catholic Charities plays a key role, offering Medication-Assisted Treatment to help mothers stop using substances and intensive outpatient counseling services to help them manage their recovery.
“I got to HomeFront and three days later, I went into labor,” Samantha said.
Because she tested positive for illegal drugs in the delivery room, her newborn son was taken into protective custody. Thankfully, through FMBAM, Samantha was quickly enrolled in substance use treatment and began attending a 12-step program. Her commitment to sobriety allowed her to be reunited with her baby 25 days later.
“I am so thankful I got out of that situation when I did,” she said. “If I had gone into labor while I was still in that hotel, I might have lost my baby forever.”
Holding on to Family Is Key
Family means everything to Samantha. When her father passed away when she was just seven, she and her mother moved from Florida to New Jersey to live with her aunt and uncle. The couple embraced her like their own child and became a vital source of support – especially after her mother passed away in 2019. Now a mother herself, Samantha is doing everything she can to have custody of her two sons, ages 10 and 2, fully reinstated.
“They’ve been able to visit me and meet their new baby brother,” she said. “It makes me so happy to have all my boys together.” In three months, Samantha expects to have her two-year-old with her permanently and is excited at the idea of having all three sons together.
Since its launch nearly eight years ago, For My Baby and Me has served close to 200 families.
“What makes this program work so well is the collaboration among agencies,” said Stacey Negron Care Manager and Project Evaluator. “We work together to create a safe, stigma-free space where moms can focus on their recovery. Housing, meals, health care, childcare, legal assistance, job support, diapers all of these needs are taken care of. In this environment, moms can rebuild healthy, stable lives for themselves and their children.”
FMBAM Has Samantha Covered
“I get everything I need here in every way,” said Samantha. “I have so much support. Every person I was with in the intensive outpatient therapy program – the counselors and the other patients – has had a positive impact on me. It’s like everyone there is fighting the same thing and we all just come together to get stronger.”
For My Baby and Me helped Samantha get a laptop so she could continue working toward her bachelor’s degree. She is currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University, studying Health Sciences. “I don’t want to be reliant on anyone. I want to be on my own. And I am so grateful to everyone at For My Baby and Me for giving me a second chance with my children. It’s a privilege to be a mom.”
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With support from My Baby and Me, Samanatha and her son have a safe place to live while she works on her recovery and maps out a plan for her future.
FOR INFORMATION about the For My Baby and Me program, call 609–256–7801 or visit www.formybabyandme.org.