Kids Having Children
August 7, 2006
The Hawthorne Street Community of Harbor focuses it’s ministry on Montrose’s street kid population. It’s hard to imagine that kids living on the street have children of their own. But they do, and the heart breaking stories of the people that we minister to are - at times - overwhelming. The following is the first hand account of one of the women who is in the core of the Yupon Community. On a regular basis she attends Street Reach, an outreach to street kids done by some fellow pastors in Montrose. It was there that she met Iris – the mother of a beautiful three year old, Lizzy. Here is her story.
“At Street Reach a few weeks ago, I reconnected to Iris. She is the mother of three year old Lizzy and she lives a transient lifestyle where she is in and out of abusive relationships. Rough around the edges and unable to find a job, she’s been on and off the streets for several years. When I saw her she told me she was trying to get enough money to send Lizzy to California to stay temporarily with her sister. I was curious because I have known Iris for a while and I knew that it would take extreme circumstances to get her to part with Lizzy - even temporarily. As we talked, I discovered that she would be back on the streets by the end of the month and was so discouraged with the job search that she had given up hope for being able to provide for her daughter.”
“I told our Hawthorne Community what was going on. Iris’s story was not new to us. Barbi has been teaching her guitar lessons on a weekly basis, and others of us have connected to her at Street Reach. After some prayer and dialogue, we decided we wanted to help her get Lizzy to her sister in California. When I offered the help, she said she wanted to think about it.”
“I saw Iris at Street Reach the next week and it was clear that the reality of the decision with which she was faced combined with our genuine concern for her had affected her deeply. She was questioning what was best for her daughter. We prayed with her, talked through the options, and gave her some time to think. By the end of the night, she decided instead that she wanted to find a temporary Christian Rescue Family in Houston for her daughter while she tried to get her life sorted out – something she previously had been unwilling to do. The Christian Rescue Families are found through the Street Reach Ministry.”
“This is a small step that encourages me.”
The story is still unfolding and it gives insight into the nature of Harbor’s ministry. The problems faced by street kids are highly complex, requiring support and input from a variety of sources (in this case Hawthorne community and Street Reach). Even when a young woman like Iris begins to move toward good decision making, there are so many forces working against that. From her abusive family background, she has extreme distrust for authority and especially the church. She is likely involved in some gang activity – something that she views as essential to her survival on the streets. Combined with the fact that so much of her decision making process is driven by fear, progress is slow and only comes through prayer and almost daily connections with those who have compassion and some ability to help.
Iris and Lizzy are still in a difficult situation, but we are encouraged by her openness and feel that her heart has been softened by our expression of God’s concern for her. Please pray for them and for us as we seek to maintain contact and gently guide her in the direction that will give life to both Iris and to Lizzy.