by Eric L. Clark
Every Saturday, you will find Tara Whitaker, 33, a single mother of an 11-year-old son, among the crowd of individuals who are unhoused gathered outside City Hall in downtown St. Louis. But she’s not there for herself; she’s there to make a powerful statement advocating relief for the region’s rising housinginsecure population. Armed with feminine hygiene products, bottled water, a list of available resources, and an encouraging word, Whitaker is dedicated to combatting housing insecurity in the city and helping others regain their footing towards recovery, independence, and a brighter future. Having experienced homelessness herself, Whitaker uses her personal journey to uplift others. Her early years were tumultuous, often spent moving between foster care placements and homeless shelters. After losing her mother at just three years old, Whitaker was raised by her grandmother until the age of ten, when she was placed into foster care. From ages 12 to 21, Whitaker navigated the foster care system, ultimately finding herself pregnant and homeless at 21.
Finding Hope through Parents as Teachers
Whitaker’s life changed dramatically when she encountered a parent educator from the Parents as Teachers home visiting program while involved with the St. Louis Public Schools system. Headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri, Parents as Teachers builds strong communities, uplifts families, and ensures healthy, secure children by connecting parents and caregivers with trained professionals for regular, personalized home visits throughout a child’s earliest years—from pregnancy through kindergarten.
Living at St. Louis Hope House, a nonprofit that partners with Parents as Teachers, she seized the opportunity to enroll in the program. Through this initiative, Whitaker gained vital life skills that equipped her to raise her then three-year-old son successfully, transforming her life’s trajectory. “Parents as Teachers gave me the essential knowledge to become a strong woman and an effective mother,” Whitaker asserted during a group connection hosted by Parents as Teachers’ Show Me Strong Families (SMSF) program. “I enrolled and committed to the program for two years, graduated high school with a welding certificate, and enrolled in cosmetology school with perfect attendance. This program set me on my path, and I am forever grateful.”
SMSF is committed to empowering families and children through personalized home visits that enhance parental resilience and deepen understanding of parenting and child development. As an affiliate of Parents as Teachers National Center, SMSF focuses on distressed communities in St. Louis and North St. Louis County, where nearly 80% of families served are African American and primarily low-income. One quarter are young parents, one third are unhoused, and another quarter have low educational attainment. Alison Gee, vice president of Government and Community Engagement at Parents as Teachers, emphasizes the organization’s dedication to utilizing evidence-based research to provide relevant information, guidance, and tools for early childhood and education providers. “Our program is grounded in the latest research, and our curricula support parents in promoting family well-being and the healthy development of their children,” Gee said. “We advocate for national, state, and local efforts that work to improve school readiness and life success by reaching children during the most critical, early years of life.” Gee and other staffers make regular visits to Washington, DC, to lobby legislators and advocate for home visiting funding and support.
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Eric L. Clark is a veteran journalist who reported on early childhood education for the Parents as Teachers National Center for six years. He is a former newspaper reporter and managing editor, public relations professional and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville’s School of Communications. www.cwla.
