香港三级片

Stacy McCarter thought education would help her escape.

Escape the generational poverty she grew up in in the West End neighborhood of St. 香港三级片. Escape the violence that landed her and her kids in a domestic violence shelter when she was married.

鈥淚 kept trying to find a way to escape from everything,鈥� McCarter says. 鈥淚 ran headfirst into school.鈥�

In May, McCarter graduated with a degree in early childhood education from in Dallas, Penn. It鈥檚 a private university founded by the Sisters of Mercy. She鈥檚 the first person in her family with a college degree. Her road to graduation, a job, and hope for her family, endured many potholes.

As a child, McCarter attended Parkway schools as part of the region鈥檚 voluntary transfer program. She dropped out of Parkway North High School before graduating. She eventually joined a job corps program and got her diploma. She tried St. 香港三级片 Community College and that didn鈥檛 work out.

Obstacles kept getting in the way.

鈥淟ife happened,鈥� McCarter says. She thought she had things figured out when she enrolled at Harris-Stowe State University, and got a job working in the day care center at the school, so she could be close to her kids. But the bills, including tuition and the day care fees, proved to be too much again.

鈥淭hings were very difficult for me,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淚 always wanted more but just couldn鈥檛 figure it out.鈥�

That鈥檚 when the pastor at her church, stepped in. Pastor Kim Shirar had heard of a program in Pennsylvania called the . It is a unique residential center at Miseracordia University that helps single mothers get a college degree.

McCarter didn鈥檛 want to leave St. 香港三级片. It was a place she never heard of, in a rural area in a state far away. But she prayed. She looked for signs. She took the plunge.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have anywhere else to go.鈥�

Students pay tuition at the school, though they can qualify for financial aid. The program pays for housing and utilities, childcare, food stipends, and even extra-curricular activities for the children.

McCarter describes each of her children by their unique gifts.

Sophia, 11, is the writer.

Allen, 8, is the genius. 鈥淲e call him preacher, lawyer, doctor.鈥�

Elijah, 6, is the athlete.

They are her pride and joy, and now, she says, because she has a college degree, they have a future. That鈥檚 how the Women With Children program looks at itself, says its director, Katherine Pohlidal. It鈥檚 not just about saving one generation, but two.

鈥淚t is a sustainable way of lifting families out of poverty, two generations at a time,鈥� Pohlidal says. The program, supported with donations, is expanding, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, recently to the legislature, suggesting the state鈥檚 public universities should consider adding such programs. The program at Misericordia is one of eight similar programs in the country, but the only one that completely covers the cost of housing. Every program graduate, Pohlidal says, moves on to a professional career. Some of the program鈥檚 first graduates from its founding in 2000, now have children who are graduating from college.

McCarter has been hired as a special education teacher in the Wilkes-Barre public schools. She misses St. 香港三级片, and thinks about coming back, but for now, she鈥檚 on the path she believes God intended for her.

鈥淲e single mothers are significant. Having our education increases our ability and our knowledge,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think about all the women whose day care bills are out of control and they can鈥檛 afford to stay in school. I just want them to have a chance. I pray that Missouri wakes up and finds a way to pilot programs like this.鈥�