Our Mission

Helping Each Adolescent Reach Their Spark (H.E.A.R.T.S.) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that educates and equips all adolescent parents with the tools needed to become independent and self-sufficient. 

Our Values

With our core values, we educate, we connect, and we empower.

  • Each adolescent is valued and treated with kindness and empathy.

  • All individuals are responsible, honest, and respectful and live each day with a sense of purpose.

  • Open, honest communication allows for trust-based relationships and continued personal growth.

Our Vision

We believe that every adolescent parent will have access to a space that breeds independence.

Our Story

The History -
From OHRC to H.E.A.R.T.S.

“Our House” Resource Center, LLC (OHRC) was the initial inspiration for H.E.A.R.T.S. OHRC began with Tameka Brown’s passion and a small group of educators in Durham, NC. OHRC was established on June 21, 2012, as a corporation that provided adolescent mothers with a one-step approach to services and resources to aid in their journey towards a prosperous life.  It was a Limited Liability Corporation under the state of North Carolina and contributions to OHRC were not tax deductible under the IRS tax code.  After a few years, the founder decided to modify the model and reorganize it as a non-profit organization in 2016.  

Born out of OHRC, Helping Each Adolescent Reach Their Spark, is a non-profit organization that educates and equips adolescent parents with the tools needed to become effective parents and citizens. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit in North Carolina; contributions to H.E.A.R.T.S. are tax deductible under the IRS tax code. OHRC was a corporation run by an advisory board until it was dissolved in 2016. H.E.A.R.T.S. is governed by a Board of Directors who advise on the structure, affairs, business, and concerns of the organization. 

Executive Director: How It All Came to Be

Executive Director Tameka S. Brown tells the story of the birth of OHRC turned H.E.A.R.T.S.  

Throughout my high school years, I observed numerous teen pregnancies. By surprise, many of these parents vanished. I thought they had moved to avoid any embarrassment or were sent away to live with relatives. I always questioned why they could not stay and continue their education in a traditional high school setting.   

At fifteen, my passion grew stronger when my best friend became pregnant at 15. She lived with her grandmother; once she became pregnant, however, she moved from house to house and from friend to friend. I was concerned about her well-being, knowing she needed somewhere stable to live to rear her son because that’s what I was learning on the Family and Consumer Science track at Northern High School in Durham, NC. 

I knew then there had to be an alternative. I searched for organizations that assisted teen mothers through their transition from being a teen to becoming a teen mother. We identified one program, but it was for homeless families. This program provided housing and child-care while parents continued to attend school and/or work, equipping mothers with the skills to obtain and maintain employment. All other programs only offered support groups. She refused to go because she was not homeless, and she did not want to stay in a facility with men she did not know.  

In August of 2002, I went to the best HBCU, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, leaving my best friend behind. Throughout my undergraduate career, I studied the growing staggering statistics of teen pregnancy in hopes of one day making a change that would decrease the generational struggles of children born to young teenage mothers and, as a result, decrease the risk of them becoming teen parents themselves.  

In 2005, I took a stand and began the creation of “Our House” Resource Center, LLC while in Dr. Thurman Guy’s Curriculum Development class. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Studies in 2006, and the curriculum was saved in my Professional Portfolio for years.   

I experienced several jobs preparing me for what I did not know at the time would be my destiny! After my internship, I was hired full time as a Training Coordinator for Regional Childcare Resources & Referrals. Soon after, I became the Teen Living & Parenting teacher at North Forsyth High School in Winston Salem/Forsyth County School System. This would be the second time I saw first-hand the challenges that derive from adolescent pregnancy, but through the new perspective of my students. My fire to make a change was relit, and OHRC resurfaced from my portfolio in September of 2011 when I moved back home with my parents to conquer God’s quest. OHRC was filed as a Limited Liability Company in June of 2012 to protect the name, and the first official advisory board was established; 18 community members reported to the first meeting.  

I transferred to Hillside High School in Durham, NC as the Parenting and Child Development teacher and witnessed the same struggle of teen mom survival and knew it was time to start the groundwork. Dr. William T. Logan granted us permission to start the first support group for adolescent mothers for the 2012-13 school year.    

My sister's creative mind gave birth to the name and logo of the 'Helping Each Adolescent Mother Reach Their Spark (H.E.A.R.T.S.)' program. Our program, affectionately known as H.E.A.R.T.S., is dedicated to reducing the staggering statistics of young mothers, decreasing the dropout rate amongst teen mothers, and increasing the graduation rate for Durham County and the surrounding areas. We take pride in sharing that our program has a graduation rate of 91% for its participants since 2012. We are committed to empowering young mothers and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed, and we are grateful for your support in this endeavor.