Hope, Safety, and Opportunity for Young Women
Every 154 minutes a South Carolina teen gives birth. Less than 50% will finish high school, increasing the likelihood that they will live in poverty and have unstable housing. Children born to young mothers are more likely to be premature or have a low birth weight, have lower educational performance, and are less likely to graduate and become teen parents. Teen parenting is part of the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Studies also show that young women in foster care are more likely to become homeless at an earlier age and drop out of school. Over 70 percent will become pregnant by 21.
While many research studies document the challenges pregnant and parenting teens and young women face, little attention has been paid to their successes and what support young mothers need to succeed. With the proper support, they can overcome system barriers and challenges to build safe, healthy, and prosperous lives for their families.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide hope, safety, and opportunity to young women in order to instill self-worth and self-sufficiency.
Vision Statement
We value the right of every young woman to obtain the education, skills, and support needed to have a healthy start in life – for today and tomorrow. That’s why we provide programming to help pregnant and at-risk girls gain the skills they need to become independent.
Our Core Values
Miracles on St. Margaret Street
The roots of a remarkable program that has transformed the lives of thousands of pregnant and parenting young women and their babies can be traced to a news account of a Charleston woman’s suicide attempt in 1897. The story in the city’s afternoon newspaper sparked the creation of what’s now known as the Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina. It’s no less a miracle that the young woman who jumped into the Cooper River in 1897 survived than it is that the Crittenton rescue effort now is in its second century. Throughout an astonishing 124-year history, Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina has been providing care to low-income, disadvantaged pregnant, and parenting mothers in need.
In 2009, the Council on Accreditation re-accredited our agency through 2013 and again in 2020 demonstrating that our agency delivers the highest quality services. Today we continue to build strong families, healthy teens, and self-sufficient young adults by providing education, counseling, medical care, social support, and a safe haven. From its humble beginnings, the ongoing vision of the agency has always been to provide hope, safety, and opportunity so that every child and family served gains a sense of self-worth and the ability to achieve full potential. Our program provides our clients with the skills to become self-sufficient parents and members of the community.