Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to Life Reviewed, a podcast by Hope House Colorado, where we invite you into conversation with teenage moms and the people who champion them. These stories of struggle, overcoming and perspective shifts will challenge you to review life as you've known it. One story, one person, one conversation at a time.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Life Reviewed.
My name is Jenny Macias. I'm the director of Partnerships at Hope House Colorado. And today I am super, super excited to have one of our alumni moms with us, Hannah, who we go way back, and so I'm excited for y' all to get to hear a little bit of Hannah's story and her just life journey at Before Hope House, during Hope House, and now after Hope House and some of the exciting things happening there.
So maybe I'll just jump in and. Hannah, can you say hi?
[00:01:05] Speaker C: Hey, everybody.
Welcome.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: I'm so glad you're here with us today.
So let's just jump in and chat a little bit about your childhood. Like, what did your childhood look like before you became a young mom?
[00:01:21] Speaker C: I feel like it was relatively normal, average. I don't. I don't think anything, like, too traumatic, you know, like.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:01:35] Speaker C: My parents were divorced, I think, when I was in the third grade, and then military family. Grew up in Virginia. Yeah. Moved around when my brother was little and then when I was little. But a large majority of our childhood was spent in Virginia, so. Beach bums at heart. Nice.
And then, yeah.
One of my parents struggled with addiction issues and alcoholism, and so they were not in the picture very often. And then when they were, they were under the influence and, like, in comparison to some of the awful things that we know people can experience in their childhood. Sure. Reflecting back, it doesn't seem too significant. It's just, like, normal and, like, that's my life.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:53] Speaker C: And then you say these things out loud and it's like, oh, maybe. Maybe there is a little bit to unpack there. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:03:02] Speaker B: But, like, sometimes to protect our minds, we normalize some of that stuff. But also, I would say that a lot of things you shared are.
Feel really common among a lot of people's childhood now, right?
[00:03:18] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not. It's not an, like, unheard of story anymore, so.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: How old were you when you moved to Colorado?
[00:03:31] Speaker C: I believe it was August of 2011.
So 14 years ago.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:39] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: And how old. So how old were you then?
[00:03:47] Speaker C: 14.
Yeah.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:49] Speaker C: I was 14.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Okay. And what brought you guys to Colorado?
[00:03:52] Speaker C: My mom is from here. Well, both of my parents are from here, but.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: If it wasn't for the military moving my parents out of Colorado, they probably would have stayed here. And my. All of my mom's family is here. So after the divorce was final and she had struggled to be a single parent, she was like, you know what? I'm just.
Just going home.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:16] Speaker C: I need my mom be with my family.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:04:18] Speaker B: Yep. I would do the same. You're like, I need some extra support as a single mom.
[00:04:22] Speaker C: For sure. Yeah. So she moved here in July of 2010, and then I had stayed behind with my dad to finish middle school.
And then. Yeah. Came out here, started high school out here, and have been in Colorado since. So when people ask me if I'm a Colorado native, I say yes.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:51] Speaker C: And maybe that'll feel like somebody, but.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: I'm sure you. Like, you. You primarily have been in Colorado.
[00:04:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Nice.
So at some point you meet a boy and tell me a little bit about that.
[00:05:09] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I mean, if we're really gonna psychoanalyze me, you could say there's daddy issues.
I was, I was just. I was in a particular crowd that maybe was not the best for me, and I got pregnant.
And that was the summer before my senior year of high school.
So I was 17.
And I was prepared for it. I had kind.
This is gonna sound crazy.
I had kind of planned it.
I.
[00:06:17] Speaker B: Like, you wanted to get pregnant?
[00:06:19] Speaker C: Yeah, Like, I thought I was ready for a baby. So my stepmom and had my first little brother when I was 12 or 13.
And so when I lived with my dad for that year in eighth grade, I was with my newborn brother, my one year old brother. And so I was 14, getting my. I mean, and I had always cared for my little sister, who is five years younger than me.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: So you are well versed in how to care for a little baby.
[00:06:53] Speaker C: Yeah, I was. I was prepared. You know, from the age of like 8 years old, I was alone with my 5 year old sister.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: Right.
[00:07:03] Speaker C: And so, yeah, caring for a baby was not new to me. And then I moved to Colorado and my mom had my second little brother when I was 15.
And so I had another newborn baby that I was loving on and smelling his head and changing diapers. So it wasn't like, I know how to do this. Yeah, yeah. It wasn't like this crazy, massive, oh, my gosh, I can't believe you got pregnant. How could you? Like, it was just the natural progression. I was like, okay, I've been taking care of babies for the last five years. It's time for it's time for. Time for me to have a baby.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Now I'm ready to have a baby.
[00:07:52] Speaker C: I want a baby. I want my own thing to.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:56] Speaker C: Take care of.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: So now you're pregnant and single again.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: And back living with your mom.
[00:08:05] Speaker C: Yes. Eventually, I did make it back to my mom's house.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: And how do you remember what it was like telling your mom that you were pregnant?
[00:08:14] Speaker C: It was very early. I had taken the pregnancy test.
It was late at night. She was in her room, and the light was off, and so I was, like, covered in darkness, and so I didn't have to, like, see her face, but I was like, I have something to tell you. And then I couldn't get it out, so I just stood there in silence. And she's like, what? What is it? Oh, gosh. And I was like, I'm pregnant. And she was like, oh, Hannah. No, no. And just like, thank God I didn't see her face, because the disappointment.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: That would have been harder.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
Yeah. And I don't remember much after that.
I think I was just like, okay, I just thought you should know. Bye. And I walked away.
Yeah.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: But you could hear the disappointment. And then.
Was your mom supportive, though? Like, I mean, I'm sure it's not what she would have wished for you, it sounds like. But.
[00:09:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, she was absolutely supportive.
Not. Certainly not enabling, though. Right. And I think those are two very different things.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: You know, she still held her boundary.
My boyfriend at the time was not allowed to stay ultimately live in her house anymore. Yep.
But it was never, like.
There were never any conversations other than what our next step was right or my next step was right.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Right. Okay.
And then tell me about when you had Cora.
[00:10:12] Speaker C: My brain is just racing. I'm like, what do I. What do I share? Yeah, all. All of it.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:20] Speaker C: I'm living at my mom's house, and I go to the hospital third in the evening, and they're like, okay, great. We're gonna induce you. We're gonna. Wow, get this going. And I'm like, okay, cool. And so I was at the hospital under an alias.
There had to be a secret code or a picket into it or a digit that any visitor had to know for the hospital staff to confirm that I was there.
So my friend showed up the next day and said, hey, I'm here to see Hannah. And they were like, sorry, we don't have a Hannah.
So that's like, this hospital took this situation so seriously.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: That's good.
[00:11:16] Speaker C: And I.
There are some things in life where it could have turned out so differently. Yeah. If other things hadn't happened. Or, like, it's just.
Whether it's someone is saying it's like God looking over you or luck or whatever it is.
There's just a few things in this story that there, somewhere in the world, something was looking out for me.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: Right. Right. It sounds like God was protecting you. Right. And that's so cool. I actually, like, over the years, I've heard so many stories of some of our teen moms sharing that, like, doctors or nurses were not protective of them and were more judgy. And so I love that everyone at the hospital, like, they were advocating for you. They had your back and were so protective. I think that's amazing.
[00:12:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: And to, like, protect this special moment that you're about to have, too.
[00:12:27] Speaker C: Right.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Like, you don't need all this, like, toxic drama while you have enough going on in your body and what you're.
[00:12:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:37] Speaker C: And every. So going back to the protective pin, that changed every day. Oh, wow. Every morning, my nurse would come in and give me a new number.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: And then that's what you had to notify all of your people.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:50] Speaker C: Yes.
But, I mean, my daughter was born healthy and happy and tiny, but not like average tiny, not extremely tiny.
[00:13:08] Speaker B: And.
[00:13:11] Speaker C: I believe we stayed.
I think we just stayed one night. It might have been two.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: What was it like holding Cora in your arms for the first time?
[00:13:26] Speaker C: I wish I could say that it was this beautiful, joyous, magical moment, but I am one of those moms who almost, like, disassociates. Like, obviously, I'm holding her and I'm.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:41] Speaker C: But I'm also in shock. What just happened to me?
[00:13:44] Speaker B: Oh, for sure.
I think a lot of moms can relate to that. Like, what just happened? Like, is this for real?
[00:13:51] Speaker C: I mean, you watch these birth stories that everyone's like, oh, my God, my baby. And immediately starts crying, and she's, like, kissing this goopy newborn. And I've just, like, there's pictures of me, like, looking at her kind of confused. Right. Like, what?
Like, obviously, I knew I was having a baby. That's not. But that's not the surprise here. But I think I was also very intrigued in all of the medical processes happening around me at the same time.
[00:14:20] Speaker B: Knowing you. Of course you were. Of course you were. You're like, wow, look at how this is all happening.
[00:14:26] Speaker C: So I think that was a big part of it, but it also just felt so normal.
[00:14:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:39] Speaker C: Like, okay, this is my baby. I'm just Gonna start taking care of my baby.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:43] Speaker C: You know.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I know how to do this. Yeah.
[00:14:46] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: That's awesome.
So then at some point you find Hope House. How old was Cora when you found. When you came to Hope House?
[00:14:56] Speaker C: Oh, this is a fun story. I actually found Hope House and called applied online and had a phone call with you.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Okay. I took your call.
[00:15:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
It's July 25th, so I hadn't gone into labor yet. I had probably had a phone call with you.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: While you were still pregnant.
[00:15:18] Speaker C: While I was still pregnant. And you were like, sorry, hon, not yet.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: Every call I take like that. I'm like, as soon as you have that baby, you call me and we will get you in the next day.
[00:15:27] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: How did you find Hope House? Like when you called when you were pregnant, how had you found us?
[00:15:33] Speaker C: It was the most.
Again, one of those things where it's just like, how did you h. How did this.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:40] Speaker C: Happen.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:41] Speaker C: I was at the WIC office.
[00:15:43] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:15:43] Speaker C: You know, like doing my.
A three month check in, getting my WIC benefits, weighing in, making sure I was still, you know, all of the.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:15:53] Speaker C: Wick things that you have to do.
And I was checking in at the front desk and they have the like clear plastic thing. So it's not welcoming, it's not inviting. It's a.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: You mean the clear plastic, like, window that you're.
[00:16:09] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Like the little hole.
[00:16:10] Speaker B: Yeah, those are never.
[00:16:12] Speaker C: And the little like slidey like.
[00:16:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
Slide your paper under the window. The glass window. Yes.
Yep.
[00:16:19] Speaker C: And so.
And it's maybe a postcard sized piece of paper on the receptionist's desk. Oh. And I think what I read first was teen moms. And I said, hey, I'm a teen mom.
[00:16:35] Speaker B: I'm a teen mom.
[00:16:36] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, what do you got over there? And so I'm reading and I just see Hope House and I remember googling it on my phone while waiting for my WIC appointment.
And then that's when I submitted my application online. Was probably that while you were sitting in the waiting room. Yeah, probably More than likely.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:16:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Well, then I must have. Maybe I called you if you had applied.
[00:17:00] Speaker C: Yeah, that sounds right.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: And then said, you know, give me a call as soon as you have that baby.
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Yeah. So you call back after you have Cora, apparently.
[00:17:09] Speaker C: Yep.
So.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: So what for you.
I think it is so cool that like you're at your WIC appointment and seeing our little. I remember those little half page flyers that were like my recruiting flyers that I would deliver to WIC offices and places like that. So I think that's so cool. If that's how you found us, what was the draw for you? When you like, then go to our website and you're looking like, what was the thing? Was it just like, I want to be around other teen moms or was there a program that like you were drawn to that you saw?
[00:17:38] Speaker C: No, I.
I mean all of it. You know, I'm always for personal development. I always have been.
And I think I know at that point when I contacted Hope House, I had left the ex boyfriend back at home. No idea what I was doing.
And just knowing like, I am going to be or am wholly responsible for a whole other human. Yeah. So anything that this place has to provide, I'm going to take advantage of. Yeah. Oh, love that.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: What? Do you have any kind of like first memories from when you came into Hope House and started with us?
[00:18:34] Speaker C: How inviting and personable and loving all of the staff was?
I mean, from the second I walked into the glass pane door at the Westminster location, I. I'm pretty sure there was this itty bitty little walkway like entry way.
[00:19:03] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:19:03] Speaker C: And you were there.
And I could probably still name off of. Name off all of the old staff that were there, but everyone had a smile. Everyone was just like.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: Excited to meet you, Right?
[00:19:19] Speaker C: Yeah, excited. Just like just very welcoming. It was never ever an off putting feeling. I love that. Even by other moms.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: Like we were all just here to do what we needed to do to move our lives forward.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Yeah. And I love hearing you say that because we work so hard to make sure that Hope House feels. It always feels that way. It always feels like this loving, welcoming environment for teen moms. And I believe that's the people that we hire. So we're very, very picky about who gets to be on staff at hopehouse. You have to truly love teen moms and be just this like, nurturing, caring person that wants to help them be successful. So I'm glad that that's what you felt. That's amazing.
So what are some of your. Some of the programs and classes that you participated in at Hope House?
[00:20:08] Speaker C: All of them?
[00:20:09] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: You sure did.
[00:20:11] Speaker C: There was the healthy relationships.
There was the parenting classes, financial planning.
I. I took advantage of that one as often as I could. Every time you guys offered a different person, I met with them. Yeah, there were.
My position was a little bit unique. I had already graduated high school.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:20:43] Speaker C: I was on the older end of teen moms that Hope House serves Yep.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: I feel like you came in already almost as a little bit of a mentor for some of our younger moms.
[00:20:55] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Because I was already in. I was already in college.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: And you were always so. Just driven. You have always been so driven and goal oriented, and you were such a good example to the other moms around you at Hope House. Weren't always. They just weren't there yet. Of like, you know, they're still getting there. And so you could be kind of an inspiration for them, I feel like.
[00:21:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
And so, like, we did our orientation, and then I'm pretty sure you sat me down next to Jamie when she was the college and career coordinator.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: Yep. Jamie Barnes. Yep.
[00:21:29] Speaker C: And you're like, okay, this is Jamie. You're in college. Here you go.
[00:21:34] Speaker B: Here's your new best friend.
[00:21:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
I would say that is still accurate 10 years later.
And I, like you said, being a mentor, I remember Jamie and I were like, okay, we're gonna figure this out together. And then we're gonna do this for all of the other girls. And then she would start texting me, hey, how did you do this? How did you. How did you do that? Yeah.
[00:21:57] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:21:58] Speaker C: Yeah. And I just, I loved.
Of course, Hope House was a huge resource for me, but I really loved.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: You got to be a part of building it a little bit. Like, building that program. Yeah.
[00:22:11] Speaker C: And it was.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: That's like your legacy at Hope House. That's so cool. You got to help build our, like, college and career program. Be a piece of that.
[00:22:19] Speaker C: And. Yeah. I just.
Because when I had joined Hope House, I was at Front Range Community College.
And then I think it was when I was in the residential program, I had decided, I think this is what I want to go for.
[00:22:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So when did. So you moved into the residential program?
[00:22:42] Speaker C: Cora was four months old.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:22:45] Speaker C: It was before it became the program it is today. Right.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: It was when you lived in the house. It was much harder back then. Right. Like, there were lots of sacrifices that you had to make to live in the house.
[00:22:58] Speaker C: There were so many sacrifices that I had.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: What was the hardest one?
[00:23:07] Speaker C: Give up my car. Yeah, I did. I truly, to this day, I still cannot fathom why that had to happen.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Right. Yeah. You weren't allowed to have your car.
[00:23:17] Speaker C: Yeah. This was a program built for teen moms to become self sufficient and, like, live sustainable lives.
But I wasn't allowed to drive.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:23:28] Speaker C: And that's like taking one of the biggest self efficient things that a person can have away.
[00:23:38] Speaker B: It probably felt like a step backwards. You're like, wait, I've had this car. I've had all this freedom, and now I don't get to have that freedom.
[00:23:46] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:23:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:23:47] Speaker C: I could live without the cell phone. I could live with not having any.
What were they called back then?
Like, activities?
[00:23:58] Speaker B: Overnight passes. Yeah.
[00:23:59] Speaker C: Oh, gosh. I think overnight passes were like, step four, step five.
[00:24:04] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, that was six.
[00:24:06] Speaker C: Whatever.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:24:07] Speaker C: They were like, essentially, you're ready to move out. You can finally go do an overnight somewhere.
[00:24:14] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So if I have any moms listening to this podcast, back in the day, our residential program, like, you would move in and you didn't have any overnights until exactly what Hannah said till, like, the end of, like, it was hard to have any free time away from the house. Really. Yeah. And what was it, 12 or 15 weeks without your cell phone?
Something like that. Phone calls had to be done on the landline, like in a public space.
And then after 12 weeks or something, you could earn your phone back, but you had to turn it in every night.
[00:24:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:24:49] Speaker B: The program was much harder back then.
[00:24:52] Speaker C: Yeah. It very much felt like a rehab facility.
And I don't. I'm not very knowledgeable in rehab facilities, but the restrictions certainly felt like a reform program.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: Right. And so now it's very, very different.
But. So how long did you live at the house when you were here?
[00:25:14] Speaker C: It was not very long.
I think it was from, like December to February or something. I had decided.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: Amount of time.
[00:25:23] Speaker C: Yeah. I decided that I was not the best fit for the program.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:31] Speaker C: And went back home and kept going to school.
Right? Yeah.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: So you're at Front Range and you got.
What was the degree you got it from?
[00:25:42] Speaker C: I ended up transferring to ccd, Community College of Denver, because that school offered the program that I wanted to go for during the day.
And so I think I transferred to CCD that summer.
The timeline. Yeah, that sounds about right. Like, it was June of 2016.
I'm trying to put together pieces of the timeline, like, based off of pictures. Right.
So maybe it was 2017. Regardless, I went to CCD and then I graduated with my Associates of Applied Science in paralegal studies.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:31] Speaker C: In May 2018.
[00:26:37] Speaker B: So then did you get a paralegal job and start doing paralegal work?
[00:26:42] Speaker C: I had already been working at a family law firm part time as a case manager and as a, I guess a legal assistant, which some will say it's a paralegal, just a different title. Right.
And then I graduated, and that boss came to my graduation and offered me a Job.
I worked with her that summer, and then I got an email in July saying, congratulations, you have a scholarship to attend University of Colorado in Denver.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: Which is so cool.
[00:27:24] Speaker C: And it was right after I had negotiated pay for my full time job.
And I walk into her office and I'm like, please don't hate me. And she's like, what?
And I'm like, I can't pass this up. And I kind of started crying. And I was like, I got a scholarship to go to UC Denver. And she's like, well, you better go.
[00:27:47] Speaker B: Yeah. What a good boss. She's like, yeah, yeah. You have to take that opportunity. Yeah.
[00:27:53] Speaker C: And so I go right back to school as a full time student.
And I think at that point I had moved into, like my own apartment and it was all just.
It's been a whirlwind of school and moving. Oh, my gosh.
[00:28:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:23] Speaker C: I moved so many times.
[00:28:25] Speaker B: Moving is a lot of work.
[00:28:27] Speaker C: Yeah.
So.
[00:28:32] Speaker B: Tell me maybe some, like, of your favorite memories at Hope House. Or do you have a favorite memory of being at Hope House before you, like, aged out? So. Because all of our moms. For listeners, our moms age out of Hope house when they're 25.
So before you turn 25, what is like a favorite memory maybe that you have?
[00:28:55] Speaker C: Oh, man, there's so many of them. Yeah.
I mean, every.
All of the things I.
I could go down the list telling Hope House that I transferred to ccd.
[00:29:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:20] Speaker C: Hope House staff. Attending my associate's graduation.
Yeah.
Moving into Warren Village. I lived at Warren Village for like the max time. I used every second that I could there.
Yep.
[00:29:36] Speaker B: Which was wise, right? Bite yourself a lot of time.
[00:29:38] Speaker C: And then I got really, really worried at Warren Village because I was at my two year mark and I was still in college. And in hindsight, I definitely could have stayed longer. And I know that they would have made the exception because I was still like working on my bachelor's. I was doing the things.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:30:01] Speaker C: But, yeah, I had met my now husband.
[00:30:05] Speaker B: Yeah. And so great.
[00:30:07] Speaker C: Moved out of Oran Village. And you know, me and him have been doing this thing called life together since then.
[00:30:18] Speaker B: I remember you coming into Hope House and making the announcement to us that you were getting married. And we were so excited because we were like, we so approve of this man.
[00:30:27] Speaker C: He's been so good.
[00:30:30] Speaker B: So tell us a little bit about your husband.
[00:30:32] Speaker C: Leo is one of the most hardworking, determined, and selfless people that I know. Oh, just this last Wednesday, he had worked all day.
He was covering.
I want to say three people on Wednesday.
So when he gets an emergency service call, he. He goes outside of where he normally works to where they like their area of Denver and he goes and services their machines.
[00:31:14] Speaker B: Right.
[00:31:15] Speaker C: So he had covered three people on Wednesday and then there was a night install, essentially replacing old equipment with new equipment.
Replacing new equipment in a new build.
[00:31:28] Speaker B: Wow. So he's working long hours.
[00:31:31] Speaker C: He can. And he will.
And I have to remind him that it's okay not to.
[00:31:37] Speaker B: Right. You can say no sometimes.
[00:31:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:41] Speaker C: And he's just. And then, so he went to the overnight install and then worked all day Thursday, was on call Thursday night. So he got home at what, 8:30 last night.
And I mean he'll just keep going. He will just keep doing that. He is.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:03] Speaker C: And he wants to. Because he wants to provide for our family and it's just beautiful. He's a, He's a wonderful person and he has overcome so much in his life too.
[00:32:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:17] Speaker C: And I'm proud of him for his personal journey and the sacrifices and the choices that he has made to support our marriage.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:27] Speaker C: And our family.
[00:32:29] Speaker B: Yeah. And I'm sure he feels the same about you and is so proud of you.
So you guys got married.
[00:32:37] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:32:37] Speaker B: And you guys had a kiddo together.
[00:32:39] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:32:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:41] Speaker C: She is now five.
[00:32:43] Speaker B: Oh my God.
[00:32:43] Speaker C: And going to kindergarten.
[00:32:45] Speaker B: So crazy. Oh my goodness. It's crazy how fast they grow up.
[00:32:49] Speaker C: I know.
Retelling these stories about Leo, I'm just like, I feel like we just got together.
[00:32:56] Speaker B: Right.
[00:32:56] Speaker C: We just celebrated six years of marriage.
[00:32:59] Speaker B: Oh my gosh. That's so cool.
So I want to talk a little bit about your life now.
So tell me a little bit about what your life looks like now and some of the new exciting things that have happened in your life.
[00:33:16] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay. So backtracking a little bit. I said the scholarship to university.
I graduate with my bachelor's in criminal justice and a minor in psychology.
I start working and now fast forward to November of 2024.
I have opened a family law firm. Woohoo.
[00:33:44] Speaker B: It's so cool. One of our first Hope House moms opening their own law firm. It's cool. So, so cool.
[00:33:50] Speaker C: Yeah. My law firm is called the Jane Law Group and it is very intentional to identify and lean towards supporting women in their legal journeys.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:34:10] Speaker C: Me too.
[00:34:11] Speaker B: Yeah, it's so, so cool. So me being the partnerships person at Hope House immediately, like so Hannah, do you want to partner with us and help do some legal support for our moms? And you were so generous and gracious in being willing to partner with us and support.
[00:34:30] Speaker C: I mean.
Yeah. Between my business partner and I, it was a no brainer.
[00:34:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:37] Speaker C: It was very much and has always been my intention to help Hope House the best way that I can.
[00:34:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:49] Speaker C: And now that I am a licensed legal paraprofessional. Yeah. And can literally represent Hope House.
[00:34:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:59] Speaker C: Moms is.
It just. It feels like part of my purpose.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Oh, I love that. I love that. And, like, I just. I so appreciate you giving back. Right. That's such an amazing way to give back. And really, really cool for our teen moms that you're working with to know that, like, I was a Hope House mom, too, and I've experienced some of these things that you guys are here for, and I am like, so excited to support you and go to bat for you. I just think that you get that, like, immediate credibility where the moms just feel so saf and trust you to really, like, be their advocate. Right. So I think that's so cool.
[00:35:44] Speaker C: Absolutely. When I speak to a Hope House participant for the first time, and at this point, I have helped quite a few Arvada moms.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:35:56] Speaker C: I have helped a Canon City mom.
[00:35:59] Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
[00:36:01] Speaker C: They get two sides of their consult or their phone call with me. They get the legal professional side, and I'm like, okay, girl, real talk.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: Yeah, good.
[00:36:09] Speaker C: Here's my. Here's my teen mom side, and here's what you really got to do.
[00:36:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. I love that.
[00:36:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: They're not gonna get that from anybody else, which is so cool.
[00:36:19] Speaker C: Yeah, they're absolutely not.
[00:36:21] Speaker B: I just want you to know how proud I am of you, like, just to have, like, seen your journey from start to finish at Hope House and to still continue to just see you grow. I mean, just, like, I'm just so proud of you. You're so amazing. And to get to still work with you in these, like, small pockets of ways, like, sometimes I wish I was the legal advocate so that I could, like, go to court and, like, watch you do your thing.
But I just. I think you're amazing. You're an amazing mom, and you're such a good role model and mentor for our mamas. So now you kind of get the blending of. You get to mentor them. Like you said, real talk. I get to do the teen mom talk, and you get to be they're, like, legal professionals supporting them, which is so cool.
So just to wrap us up, if, like, if there was one piece of advice or something that you would want to share to any teen moms that are listening to this podcast, what would you say to them?
[00:37:19] Speaker C: For any teen mom out there, half of the world does not know what you are going through and then there are all of the women in the world who don't have children.
So it doesn't matter if you are 14, doesn't matter if you are 41.
You are a mother and that levels the playing field in so many ways.
Stick up for yourself, trust your gut and love yourself.
[00:38:09] Speaker B: Great advice, great advice.
Well Hannah, as always so fun to catch up and chat with you. Thanks for sharing your story and I will. We'll be in touch soon.
[00:38:20] Speaker C: Yeah. Thank you.
[00:38:22] Speaker B: Thanks for listening everyone. This has been life reviewed. Bye.
Precious soul the things I didn't know the things I didn't know about you oh precious soul the things I didn't know the things I didn't know about you about you.
