In the corner of a conference room at CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center, Jekilah Suenu carefully places a sticker on a cup that reads, “Growing 2 Be the Best I Can Be!” Meanwhile, her mother, Brandy Daye-Suenu, prepares the room for the night’s class.
Daye-Suenu is the founder of Room2Grow, an organization that hosts educational and therapeutic classes for at-risk and young parents 16 to 30 years old.
Daye-Suenu said Room2Grow was inspired by the lack of support her own mother had while raising her.
“They didn’t have the resources to help them deal with what they were dealing with, emotionally, and understanding how to just balance being a parent and being a person in everyday living,” Daye-Suenu said.
She said she considered many names before settling on the perfect one.
“Room2Grow really means that you are willing to take that step and give yourself a chance and know that you’re worthy and just willing to be a better person,” Daye-Suenu said.
Daye-Suenu hosted her first class at CrossRoads on Feb. 7, 2024.
Daye-Suenu said she chose CrossRoads as a partner because the center promotes healing and personal growth, much like Room2Grow.
She said there are manuals for everything else in life, but parenting is something that young parents must figure out on their own. She said that’s a reason why she wants the classes to be non-judgmental and a safe space.
“I feel like we need stuff to help the big babies too, because that’s what a lot of us are that are not healed,” Daye-Suenu said. “We’re just trying to make it the best way we can and get by. And want people to understand this.”
The classes include lessons in journaling, mental health and stress management, family-friendly meal planning, and support for parents who want to pursue higher education or receive their General Education Development certificate.
Daye-Suenu said despite the number of resources available for children in Alamance County, fewer programs actually support the parents.
“I feel like we should make a way and help them understand they’re going through the different cycles and generational curses, and help them find ways to manage everyday life and being a parent,” Daye-Suenu said.
For mother Emunah Evans, she said Room2Grow helped her find skills that helped raise her children after being incarcerated for four and a half years.
“It helped me develop coping skills, helped me learn how to communicate with my kids better,” Evans said. “It also gave me financial literacy, also helped me with budgeting and things like that.”
Evans met Daye-Suenu while founding a program called Bonding Families, and wanted to meet someone who hosted parenting classes. Bonding Families is a program that helps justice-impacted families with connections to resources and family reunification. She said something she loves about the Room2Grow classes is that they don’t feel like she is sitting in a class.
“We did a lot of self-care, work on ourselves,” Evans said. “That was really interesting. She really helped me work on myself.”
Evans said something that really helped her in the classes was the teddy bear given by Daye-Suenu.
“She called it our support bear,” Evans said. “When we’re feeling stressed out or we’re feeling overwhelmed, we had the support bears to help us through that.”
Volunteer and community education coordinator at CrossRoads, Nicole Gutierrez, has seen the classes from the hosting perspective. She said that Daye-Suenu is dedicated to leading an effective class.
“She’s really committed to ensuring that her participants are getting the support that they need to be the best versions of themselves, so that they can be the best possible parents they can be,” Gutierrez said.