I remember teaching a class of fifth graders about postponing sexual involvement, when a little girl came up to me and said "my mother makes me have sex with men for money". My heart dropped into my stomach as I had this look of disgust on my face. I couldn't believe my ears when this 11 year old girl told me that, so out of good faith I pulled my supervisor to the side and told her what was just told to me. Come to find out we are unable to do anything about the situation personally because it was told in confidentiality. It broke my heart when I couldn't do anything while on school grounds but I would be able to call the Department of Social Services and leave an anonymous tip with a social worker to check out this childs home and living condition.
When the social worker was called she reported to the home of the 11 year old girl to find out that her mother was a drug addict and she was pimping her daughter for 10 dollar fixes so that she could get high. Not only that the sex that this little girl was having with these men was unpretected and she found out that she had Syphillis and Gonorrhea. She was taken form her mother and put into foster care. Until she was 12 and found out that she was pregnant with a baby and didn't know who was the father. She didin't know how to handle this news so her first thought was getting an abortion but found out that she was to far along to get it. she became very discouraged and became very depressed and suicidal. I felt like there was nothing that I able to do for her but to point her into the right directionbut to her the right direction seemed like a dead end.
Until one night I was watching the news and the news cast were talking about a teen who had just committed suicide. She had wrote a note and put it in her pocket while she was found laying on her bed. The coroner determined that the cause of death was overdose of pills, her foster parents never knew that she was pregnant until they got a chance to read the note that she had left in her pocket the night that she committed suicide. Thats when i had realized that these people would have helped her in every way that they can if the had knew a head of time. So to all you teens look at all of your options even if you feel as though you won't be accepted by the community. I know that when you find ou that you are pregnant and also have an STD the last thing you want to do is let people know. Please tell people it just might save your life, and the life of your baby.
