INDIANAPOLIS — Paradise Bradford is helping teenagers navigate becoming parents.
"The choices that they can make with the mentorship or just with somebody guiding them can change their life," Bradford, Founder and CEO of Pretty Passionate Hands, said.
Bradford started Pretty Passionate Hands in 2015. She provides a safe, non-judgmental environment at New Circle Church where she mentors mothers and fathers ages 12 to 18.
She knows the challenges and emotions teenage parents are experiencing. She was once a teen mom herself.
"There was times where I had very dark spaces, and it was just me and my children," Bradford said. "I didn't know what I needed to do. So, being in this space, it means more than just being Pretty Passionate Hands and giving back. It's created a family for me and my children."
"It has helped me by giving me advice. Then, just the love that Miss Paradise gives me, she's like a second mother to me," Imari Torain-Penick said.
Bradford says giving back and helping young parents gives her a purpose in life.
"For a long time, all I thought was I was a teen mom that didn't go to school and didn't graduate, but today I am so proud to show my kids that with them, by myself raising them, and doing the best that I can, we can do anything," Bradford said.
That's the mentality she's trying to teach the parents she mentors.
"It's not something that we should be ashamed about. I feel like we made a choice. So now, all we have to do is do better," Torain-Penick said.
Pretty Passionate Hands sets parents up for success by providing the basics.
"We make sure they have their stroller, car seat and diaper bag," Bradford said.
They also get diapers, wipes and hygiene products. At Pretty Passionate Hands, their group sessions focus on personal development for the parents they serve.
"We have a lot of supporters that come and teach us a lot of things like, family planning colleges jobs," Hen'ya Patton said.
Bradford is now raising money for a home that will fill a large need for the organization. It will be a place teens can come in case of an emergency. They will be able to give their kids a bath, cook a meal and do laundry.
Bradford's biggest goal is to help the teens she serves find success and own their first home.
"My biggest accomplishment was purchasing my first home," Bradford said. "That is breaking a generational curse and that is my goal for this organization. Everything they tell us we can't do, we definitely can."
