Six decades ago, Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham” hooked Geoffrey Canada on reading and saved him from a lifetime of poverty in the South Bronx, “one of the wastelands we have in this country,” he said. As he grew older, he found solace from his rough neighborhood in...
Growing up in South Los Angeles, my father parented with a traditional “machista” mentality: I was not allowed to go out, had to care for my younger siblings, cooked, cleaned, and went to school. While my father was a provider in many ways, he did not offer much in...
Over the past year, several news outlets and think-tanks have reported on the benefits and status of home visiting programs both inside and out of the United States. The bulk of the reporting centered on the funding reauthorization for the federal Maternal, Infant,...
Removed From Her Own Mother at Age 5, Alisha Burch Becomes a Second Mother to New Moms While construction workers lug hammers and wrenches in metal tool boxes to erect new houses, Alisha Burch often hauls an equally heavy load — her traumatic childhood memories — in...
Tiffany’s first child passed away only days after being born. Not long afterward, she discovered she was pregnant. Six months later her son, Deshaun, was born premature, fighting for his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. “He was on life support and I thought...
A new baby brings joy, along with lots of new challenges. For many parents, bringing a newborn home can be overwhelming. But, there are services and supports that can help. Home visiting is a powerful proven tool to support and strengthen families. Voluntary home...
We live in a complex world. One in which the solutions to society’s greatest problems are not easily identified or implemented. Within that complexity lie both challenges and opportunities to building better communities where all residents can thrive.Today’s societal...
Most cute baby pictures prompt a smile. And then there is the baby picture that causes Juana Fernandez to cringe. “There is actually a picture of me when I was a little baby holding a baby pin that I put through the electrical socket,” Fernandez recalled. “To my...
As we shift from the rebirth of spring to the full blooms of summer, we bring you a few stories of births from new moms and dads throughout Los Angeles County who have delivered healthy babies and blossomed with new parenting skills, thanks in part to First 5 LA’s...
María Contreras creció viendo el abuso doméstico que sufrió su madre. Después de casarse y tener a sus propios hijos, ella sintió que la historia en su casa del Sur de Los Ángeles se repetía cruelmente. Durante 10 años su esposo abusó de ella de manera verbal y en...
