Kylene, Maryland

This Work Started at Home

I grew up watching what it means to show up for families

Kylene

My father worked with young people in Washington, D.C., running group homes for youth who had experienced instability and loss. When I was a teenager, our home became part of that work. We welcomed three boys, Ronnie, Dominick, and Terrell, and raised them alongside our family.

We made space. We shared life. They became our brothers.

I didn’t realize it then, but I was learning what it looks like to support families, not just through services, but through relationships.

Continuing a Legacy

My dad didn’t just supervise programs. He showed up. He took kids on trips they had never experienced. He celebrated their milestones. He believed in them, even when others didn’t. He treated every child like they belonged.

And they felt it. When he passed away, young people who had crossed paths with him through his life’s work came back to honor him. That’s when it fully hit me. This is what impact looks like.

My father’s legacy is what I carry into my work today. I’m a Program Coordinator supporting the Safe Babies program nationally in Maryland.

Being a parent showed me how vulnerable this role really is.

Kylene

More than a Moment

Now, I see this work through another lens because I’m a parent.

I’m raising my daughter, Aari, as a single mom, and I know what it feels like to carry everything, emotionally, financially, mentally, all at once.

There are moments that are hard. Moments when you’re just trying to hold it together. Moments when your child needs answers you don’t have. But I remind her, and myself: I will always show up for you.

Where Relationships Create Change

What makes Safe Babies different is the way we center relationships. I’ve watched parents who have navigated the child welfare system come into this work carrying fear, shame, and uncertainty—and slowly begin to open up.

Because someone listened.
Because someone created safety.
Because someone believed them.

Safe Babies creates space for parents to be seen, not judged.

Kylene

Even when our experiences aren’t the same, I see myself in the parents we serve. Their stories ground me. They remind me that behind every system, there are parents just trying to do their best. There are families figuring it out, just like I am.

Leading with Dignity

In child welfare, we often focus on what families need to do. But what I’ve learned is that parents also need to feel seen, heard, and respected. When we lead with dignity and meet parents where they are, that’s when things begin to shift. That’s when healing starts.

What gives me hope is watching parents rise; finding their voice, stepping into leadership, realizing they are more than their hardest moment. That’s what keeps me going.

When we support parents, we support babies. When we build relationships, we build trust. And when we believe in families, they begin to believe in themselves.

For me, this is where change starts. And it started at home.

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