Auckland Women’s Centre

“Surround yourself with positive people, not people who judge you and put you down.”

That’s the advice that 18-year-old teen mum Jodie gives to other young parents, and positive people is exactly what she finds in the Auckland Women’s Centre (AWC) Teen Parenting team.

AWC provides pre- and post-natal classes, peer support, positive parenting events and groups, social work support, leadership development and other activities.

“We use a youth development approach,” says Team Leader Annalise, herself a former teen mum. “This means that we see young people as able to solve their own problems; we ‘do with’, we don’t ‘do to’. We also involve the dad, the wider family and other agencies, because by all working together and getting in early we can do great things.”

Jodie agrees. “They’re awesome – supportive, helpful, loving, accepting. This wasn’t how I had planned my life, but I have my son and he’s the best thing. And it’s not like my life has stopped, it’s just been put back a year or two.”

The Todd Foundation has provided two years’ funding to AWC for pre- and post-natal teen parent programmes. “Having more certainty of funding means we can focus more on generating real change,” says Annalise.