Nominated as a Heroines of Washington finalist for the March of Dimes organization, Autumn Williams is working to help teen mothers achieve their educational, career and life goals through the Two Percent Project. The organization’s name originates from the statistic that less than 2 percent of teen mothers will graduate college before the age of 30. Working to share the message of hope throughout NoVA, Williams, who was a teen mom, has been invited to the White House Women’s Summit, contributing to the national reception of this organization. Williams spoke with us about her empowering organization.
How has your personal experience shaped the way you think about education?
Once I graduated high school and college, so many more doors and opportunities opened up for me that led to me being able to provide for my family, especially at such a young age.
How does the Two Percent Project work to combat negative stigmas of women’s health organizations?
At the Two Percent Project, we want to be different. That’s our main goal. We focus on our clients and on their lives with our non-bias options counseling. We help clients make that decision for themselves. At outreach events we have had negative commentary saying an organization like this will be “sugarcoating teen pregnancy,” and that’s not it at all. Alternatively, through outreach efforts we’ve met former teen parents, parents of a teen parent and siblings of teen parents. This subject really hits home and brings those types of people together.
Who are the counselors working at the Two Percent Project?
We hired three counselors [who] receive training through Essential Health in California. Our staff [members are] former teen parents, so they will be providing the non-bias options counseling. My personal experience and our staff’s personal experiences are a big part of our success. It’s having somebody say, “You can overcome this and not see so much negative.” We all dealt with a lot of negative [input] with our situation and felt that we were the only ones who wanted to see us do better, so we think that’s part of the process.
What programs and support are available through your organization?
If [teen moms] do choose to parent, we will be an extra support system for them along their journey. It is all about empowerment. The counselor will be a mentor or in a big sister type of role throughout the pregnancy. We have [clients] come in every month and go over their game plan to make sure they’re meeting their goals. It’s about empowerment and helping them being self-sufficient.
Does the Two Percent Project offer assistance to men looking for health care information and education?
Yes, we are going to have a teen dad program. Hopefully, we are going to be launching it in the early spring. We compiled a group of former teen dads who will run that branch of the organization, but we have some fine-tuning [to finish]. We don’t want to limit it to mothers because we often forget that fathers are going through a [similar experience].
What are some of the future plans for the organization?
I want to expand our services nationwide—there are other places that can utilize this—and team up with organizations that share common goals [like] Generation Hope in D.C., which provides assistance for completing college; the physicians at WIC, the social services building, [who] can offer health care assistance; and Project Opportunity in Alexandria. (Two Percent Project is also expected to open a location this month in Woodbridge at 2200 Optiz Blvd., Suite 340.)
