‘We can’t survive on grit alone’: Jeremiah Program helps mothers and children while confronting poverty and policy cuts • Brooklyn Paper

In Brooklyn, where rising housing, food, and childcare costs stretch families to the limit, a program is working to break the cycle of poverty by supporting two generations at once: single mothers and their children.

The Jeremiah Program was founded in 1993 by Michael J. O’Connell, who supported an initiative in Minneapolis that helped mothers experiencing poverty attend college. The program’s first campus opened in 1998 and has since expanded across the country.

The Brooklyn site opened in 2017 with a clear mission: help student mothers complete their college degrees while ensuring their children have the care and resources they need. The model is rooted in the belief that “no mother should have to choose between investing in herself and her children.”

Every day, staff at Jeremiah