Kay Riggs with daughter Ka’Zlynn, 17, and son Kamryn, 13
Kay Riggs is a domestic violence survivor, founder of The Risen Queen Foundation and a single mom. But more importantly, she sees herself as a nurturer and life coach for her children Ka’Zlynn and Kamryn. Despite the hardships, Riggs says she ensures her kids, whom she calls her “little adults in training,” always have the support to make positive decisions for themselves.
“When life was hard, I chose to remain positive. I chose to remain soft. My heart didn’t get hard, and I didn’t get bitter about my single-mom journey. … Being able to shape their minds has been something that has really produced a lot of success in their adolescent lives.”
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Marcela Hernandez with her daughter Valentina, 5, and mother Angela Maria Palacio
Marcela Hernandez has a busy schedule as the program and organizing manager for the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants. As an immigrant from Colombia herself and a single parent, Hernandez’s professional and personal lives often blend. And her daughter Valentina is usually in tow. When her mother Angela isn’t available to babysit, Hernandez helps keep Valentina busy at meetings and conferences with a bag of art supplies and coloring pages. Valentina has also been known to give her childlike perspective when asked.
“It just makes me really happy that I’m able to not only accomplish my job but also engage my child and teach her the right thing. The work I do daily is a commendable fight. It’s a fight for justice. And, I think that the things that she’s learning with the experiences that she has through my advocacy work are going to be forever with her.”
Barat Travis with her foster Baby J, 1
Marcela Hernandez has a busy schedule as the program and organizing manager for the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants. As an immigrant from Colombia herself and a single parent, Hernandez’s professional and personal lives often blend. And her daughter Valentina is usually in tow. When her mother Angela isn’t available to babysit, Hernandez helps keep Valentina busy at meetings and conferences with a bag of art supplies and coloring pages. Valentina has also been known to give her childlike perspective when asked.
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“Fostering has its unique issues in that it’s a bit more emotionally complex. … It’s been good, but it has not been easy. But, I would say, at some level, fostering or parenting your biological kids both come with a lot of the same challenges and needs. A willingness to give up what you want for someone else’s good. You have to do that in regular parenting, and you definitely have to do that in foster parenting.”
This article was originally published in the May 2024 issue of 225 magazine.