Building a Community of Love for Our Children

JP Brooklyn mom Shatisha Bryant has been with the program for about a year and shared her experiences as a single mom and JP participant at the 2023 Brooklyn Voices Rising event, which highlights moms’ stories. This is her story.

My name is Shatisha Bryant, and I’ve been a part of JP for a few months now. I’m a full-time student and full-time mom.

My goal is to never lose sight of my daughter’s bond that we both share and the importance of it. You could get so wrapped up in wanting to make money, wanting to get somewhere, that you forget that it’s all right here in your heart with your loved ones. So my goal is to have her by my side throughout my journey and make sure to always have time for our time so that we always stay connected.

The system is not designed for single moms. I really don’t think it’s designed for parents, even if you have help. Sometimes it hurts to ask for help — hurts — but we need each other. We need people.

All moms from all walks of life came together to build this community of love for our children.

Being able to talk to other moms all the way in Minnesota, in Las Vegas, I think that that is so dope that JP connected us in such a way — across from West Coast to East Coast. Hearing the stories of those moms all the way on the west side and realizing that it’s not much different on the east side for New Yorker, we are all going through this together. And being able to come together in community in that way, I looked forward to it every week. All moms from all walks of life came together to build this community of love for our children. I think that’s our number one reason why we come together: We all have this common goal to see our children surpass our wildest dreams.

Having JP in my life, it gives me hope that it’s possible and knowing that I have community, that someone has my back, has my child’s back, it actually brings a breath of relief. I see her really blossoming. She comes in and it’s just all smiles and she’s like, “I love this place!” That touches my heart, and to see the other moms interacting with her in such a loving way too — that’s what it’s all about. And it makes me happy that I took this step to be a part of this community.

I tell all my friends about JP, which gave them the motivation to get into school. I got plans for everybody! We’re all just pulling each other up. I think that JP is going to go strong. It’s gonna stay strong and keep on motivating women to keep on striving for a big future, for a bright future.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Did Shatisha’s experience in the JP community inspire you? A monthly gift goes further to support JP families.