Pregnant with her third child with no job or family to stay with, teenager Stevonna Burch found she had nowhere to go.
She was living with family and friends but space eventually became limited. She turned to Bermuda Housing but she could not afford any of the accommodation. She even made posters and gave them to shops to put up.
In a moment of desperation she called a friend who suggested she contact Teen Services.
Ms Burch said that she "put her pride aside" and picked up the phone. That was in 1997.
Today Ms Burch has turned her life around and is a full-time cashier at the Bermuda Telephone Company renting a four-bedroom house with her friend.
"On a day-to-day basis they pushed us to go and find jobs, taught us to attend to our kids first and foremost and we were taught to cook and clean. They even had counsellors who we could talk to about all problems.
"We had chores like cooking and cleaning and had we meetings at night to discuss anything going on with us and the house.
"The Teen Haven and Teen Services staff were extremely patient. They were family. They loved us and loved our kids and would make sure the children had everything they needed weekly."
When she was just 17 years old, Ms Burch lost her mother. She said that case manager Adina McCallan treated her and her children as though they were her own. That experience, she said, helped her to mature and realise that she had a lot going for her and that her children were her priority.
"Teen Haven is a stepping stone and nothing to be ashamed of at all," she continued. "It was like any where else you would stay.
"The most valuable lesson I learned was to put aside my pride and let people in on my life situation so I could make progress. When someone wants to help allow them to help you as long as you know your trying to move forward and helping yourself then there nothing wrong with someone helping you.
"I now appreciate the smaller things life has to offer, I always try to give a helping hand when I can. I was blessed that they got hold of me because I was ready to give up but I didn't."
Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Comment by:
Nichole Zuill
I lived at the haven with Stevonna as well. It was a great place to be at those times in our lives, not only did they help us to become the women we are today it helped build long lasting relationships. I often think of the days at the Haven and I can truley say that without that experience, I have no idea how i would have turned out. Thank you for looking out for us.
