BY ROBERT SANCHEZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After months of prayers and tears, Beverly Kahr finally welcomed someone into her office.
Ms. Kahr and her organization, Positive Beginnings, made a new beginning Saturday when its first teen parenting center opened to the public. The two-story house on a hill at 3646 Clarion Ave., Evanston, is equipped with five rooms and three computers.
Although the day was focused on the grand opening, the group's director couldn't shy away from the real message.
Positive Beginnings, which originally began as the Evanston Teen Parent Program in 1986, is an organization that gives young parents -- ages 12 to 19 -- counseling, support and child care. Already, 24 girls are in the program. More than 100 parents are expected to be served during the first 12 months.
"Finally, there's a place where these kids can come in and get some help," Ms. Kahr said. "We're going to make sure someone's here to catch these kids so they don't fall through the cracks.
"These kids are so impressionable," Ms. Kahr said. "We have to make sure they get a proper education, so they don't fall behind."
Before the house was renovated, meetings were conducted at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Rutland Avenue in Evanston.
The Clarion Avenue residence was donated in 1996 and was improved with a $35,000 block grant from the city, $10,000 from Kenwood Baptist Church and donations from other Cincinnati-area churches.
But it took years of hard work, said the Rev. Wendell Gibbs of St. Andrew's.
"It wasn't always smooth sailing," he said. "No one can really know how much we prayed just so we'd have the opportunity for a day like this. It's truly a blessing."
Many of the organization's volunteers have been through the trouble of teen pregnancy. Ms. Kahr once was a teen mother who had to rebuild her life.
Now, others who were in the same situation are giving their time. "We didn't have a place where we knew we could go if we really needed to talk," said Twana Wynn, 23, who sought help eight years ago and is a Positive Beginnings peer adviser. "These girls are going to get what they need in one place.
"They don't have to feel like they've been left behind anymore."
