Meet Ana Ana’s Christmas wish is simple. A perfect holiday for her would be spent sharing a meal with her family and then spending the evening talking with her husband about their kids. She would also love to be able to shop at the Target near her apartment to buy her sons a motorized car and a Leap Frog toy to brighten their holiday.

The 18-year-old mom came to alley’s house after being referred by a nurse at Parkland Hospital. She and her 19-year-old husband have three sons ages 3, 1, and 2 months. They have carefully adjusted their schedules so Ana can go to alley’s house in the morning for G.E.D. tutoring and return in time for him to go to work at Don Miguel in the afternoon. Ana takes the bus with her young children, and has faced hard times after losing their car when they missed a payment.

This young family of five lives on a very limited income, and often struggles to afford groceries. Her children go through more than 20 diapers a day and although the two youngest have plenty of “handme-downs,” her oldest son has very little of his own. Ana is grateful for the assistance she receives from alley’s house though (she has even begun referring other teens to the agency). For Ana, the best part is working with Nikki Stillo, Case Manager, and Allison Whitehead, Executive Director. “Nikki has so much patience with me when I ask a question,” she says. “Allison is very nice. She tries to help everybody.”

Ana, who came to the US from Mexico at age 11, loves school but only attended school here for one and a half years, not making it to the eighth grade. With assistance from alley’s house, she plans on taking the G.E.D. in September and then go to college so she can become a first grade teacher.

With the generous donations and support from individuals in the Dallas community, alley’s house can empower teen moms like Ana, so that they can realize their dreams and achieve better lives for themselves and their children. As the holidays approach, please consider making a contribution to alley’s house so that we can continue to fund the programs such as mentoring, GED tutoring, support services, life skills workshops and job training