Saroya Byrd Legacy Scholarship

I am currently involved in the Embrace Grace program here in my town. Embrace Grace helps single, pregnant women on their spiritual journey with Christ and gives them support on resources that they are able to use during and after their pregnancy. I want women to know that if they are scared about their pregnancy there are support groups to help them whether they decide to keep their baby or not. Embrace Grace does not shame any mother for whatever choice they decide to make with their pregnancy and that is what I love about the program the most. I did not come from a very open family that educated me on pregnancy and the risks but also the beautiful side of being intimate with someone. I feel it is important as a single mother with two kids to be open and honest with my children so they feel comfortable to talk with me, and that they know about support groups such as Embrace Grace. I want the community to know more about Embrace Grace because it was only brought to my attention when I went to the pregnancy center to see if I was pregnant. I was not told about Embrace Grace at my prenatal visits and I think it was because the doctors were not familiar with the program, which is understandable. First time mothers/fathers need support because they are about to be taking care of another human who is going to be completely dependent on them and that is a scary thought and process. hearing advice from other mother's and being in a group with other parent's can help with support and gives different insight on the parenthood journey. I am also just getting involve with Allies Against Slavery. It is an organization that wants to stop the slavery industry, such as sex trafficking, and they use a software called lighthouse that helps you and your organization understand trends in human trafficking, spot victims of exploitation, and coordinate quality care. They help train you in how to use this software, get you licensed, you can go to webinars to learn more about the software as well. I want my children and my community to know that there are bad people out there who will use them for their own personal gain, but there is an innovative way to intercept this process and help find people who are being enslaved. I am still fairly new to this organization and I am still learning a lot, but what I have learned is that there is definitely a great number of people out there who care about those who are enslaved and want to help free them. We can never permanently stop the evil in the world, but if we can try and intercept the evil and prevent it the best way we can then I want to be apart of that. There have been sex trafficing signs in my community recently and it scares me to know that. I do not go out at night with my kids, I do not go to a crowded park so I can watch them better, I tend to go to smaller water parks instead of big ones, etc. I want my kids to be aware of the evil in the world and hopefully they want to be apart of Allies Against Slavery one day as well as Embrace Grace.