Sonia & Pierre; 1997

My name is Sonia. I have been asked to write a little about myself.
Where I have been, where I am now and where I will be going.
I was born July, 1974 in Elizabethtown, North Carolina. My grandmother was and still is a very important person throughout my life. Growing up in Elizabethtown, I was surrounded by my maternal relatives in a very loving environment. From the time I was two years of age, I was constantly moved between New York with my Mom and Elizabethtown where most of the family stayed.
At the age of fourteen, I became pregnant. By fifteen, I had given birth to a baby boy who I gave up for adoption. At that point, the only people who were aware of this were my Grandmother, my aunts and uncles. My Mom did not know until six months after I gave my baby boy up for adoption… It was at this time that I became aware that my Mom had a drug problem. She was working when I came up North and as time went on she stopped working, stopped taking care of herself and she would cash in her food stamps to buy drugs. As time went on, I began to meet people living in my Mom's apartment building. I hung out with one woman in particular who was about twenty-six years old. I found I could depend on her for food as this was not a priority in our home… In February 1995 I discovered I was pregnant (again). I lost my job and due to my pregnancy was unable to find work. Thus began the domino effect -- no job, no money -- no money, no home. Because of foolish pride, I did not go back to my Aunt's home and was forced to live from July 1 to August 3 in Cedar Creek Park…It was at this point that I decided that I needed something better for my unborn child and started to make phone calls. I was looking for a place where I could live with my child after his birth for a year or a little more. The place I finally found was MOMMA'S House.
-Sonia