Brittany was 4 years old when her parents got divorced, her father left her mom (Jan Tinder) to take care of children by herself. Mom wasn’t around a lot to discipline the children as she needed to earn a living to support her children, the kids raised themselves and kind of did their own thing. Brittany found herself in a position where she has gotten in with a bad group of friends – doing things that she would never let her own daughter do, trial-trying new things, following the leader of her group of friends, partying and hanging out with older kids. She tried drugs (not the heavy stuff) the stuff that her friends were doing at the time, smoking cigarettes and drinking a lot. There was no one to tell Brittany ‘no’, as her Mom didn’t know it was going on. Mom was working full time as a physical therapist and in the Air Force Reserves, by the time she got home she was too tired to deal well with her children. Brittany got the drugs and alcohol from friends or her friend’s parents, her friend’s parents saying ‘As long as you do it in my house it is ok.’ – there was really no one around to say ‘No, you really shouldn’t be doing this’. Brittany’s older sisters had pretty much gone the path already, she looked up to her big sisters and did the same things they did. It was Brittany’s escape from reality. At a point, approximately 2 years after the substance abuse began, Brittany’s Mom figured out what was going on and set up for her to have counseling. Brittany’s reaction was this was not going to help and she didn’t want anything to do with the counseling. Her Mom, then, put Brittany into a residential rehab place and still she paid no attention to the treatment and counseling, she felt she was invincible and nothing serious would ever happen to her. Brittany turned instead to the goal of helping other people at the residence, who needed to talk to someone their own age, and later was acknowledged by her counselors as helping her roommate who had seriously withdrawn from life. Brittany discovered in herself the joy of helping others . She was 12 years old at the time.
Brittany quit the smoking, drugs and drinking when she turned 18 thinking ‘Ok, what is going on with my life?’ and these where not the things she wanted to do or where she wanted to be. Brittany feels what is important, especially today, is that young people have good influences in their life – someone to say ‘no’, that too much is our culture has become normalized and accepted and sets adverse examples for the young people of today. Hard to conclude as a young person that something should not be done when those around you, even adults, are doing those very things. Once making the decision to quit the substance abuse, Brittany would still hang out with her friends and when asked would just say ‘no’. Brittany found the concept of peer pressure was not an issue with her friends, they did not pressure her to join in, and solidified her awareness that her choice to ‘not’ was really her own internal choice and decision. At 18 Brittany got a good job, moved out, changed her friends, and started creating the life she wanted to live. She started college at USF, bought a home at 20 years old, and decided her biggest goal was to be a Mom. Brittany and then boyfriend Mathew got unexpectedly pregnant, so they started counseling at Life Care of Brandon, a place for pregnant women in crisis. Brittany remarked “Even once the decision to change your life is made, mistakes can still happen. For me, it was having sex before marriage and ending up pregnant. However, I did not let that pull me from my main goal, in fact it drove me to do better for myself and my family.” After Kylee was born and seriously contemplating their decision, Brittany and Mathew got married. Brittany did her college internship at Life Care of Brandon, four days a week, to give back what Life Care had done for her and her family. She graduated from USF with her Bachelors in Social Work and now volunteers at Life Care of Brandon once a week or more if they need her help. Life Care of Brandon is a pro-life faith based organization – God first, then family, then career - and free to those in need. Brittany’s counseling at Life Care of Brandon brings her in contact with young people and children in similar circumstances she had encountered in her past. Helping others is definitely her calling. Brittany continues to keep her priorities close to heart – it’s all about her family and the people around her making her strong and resilient.
Life Care of Brandon offers pregnancy tests, abortion counseling and alternatives, parenting workshops, breastfeeding classes, labor classes, and Bible study. Women have a chance to earn ‘Mommy Dollars’ by going to classes and counseling to buy donated diapers, wipes, baby food, baby clothing (up to 24 months), formula, cribs, strollers and other baby necessities. Parents can go to Life Care of Brandon for counseling until the child is a year old and many times there is assistance available for the other young children in the family. Life Care of Brandon can always use donations of baby necessities and volunteers offering their time. Visit Life Care of Brandon for more details or call 813.654.0491.