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Blessed are the poor in spirit, grad finds
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Milly Aponte has come a long way since residing with her baby boy in an apartment at Beatitude House during some tough times. She recently became Beatitude’s newest member on the board directors and will serve on the policy and program-education committees. Photo by: ROBERT K. YOSAY | THE VINDICATOR
By JoAnn Jones
When Milly Aponte attended her first meeting as a member of the board of directors for Youngstown’s Beatitude House last month, she was quite nervous.
After all, she had experience none of the other board members had.
Nineteen years ago, Aponte lived in an apartment at the Beatitude House after getting pregnant her senior year of high school.
“The pastor at my church told me about Beatitude House, and Sister Margaret [Scheetz] interviewed me for the program,” Aponte said. “I had made a mistake, but she believed in me. I just needed that chance, and she gave it to me.”
The previous year, Sister Margaret had established the home, where women and their children could live in transitional housing while the young mothers got career training and explored educational opportunities.
Aponte had her son, Ramon, now a student at YSU, in November that year while living at Beatitude House.
“They took care of everything,” Aponte said. “You have a fully furnished apartment and don’t need anything else. I just brought my box of clothes.”
“They [the staff] became my new family and supported me,” she added. “They motivated me to go to school.”
She said that the first Christmas she was there, she could not believe the gifts she and her son received.
“Oh, my gosh! When I opened the apartment door, there were so many things people had donated,” she said.
“All the bags of gifts truly showed the spirit of Christmas. There was nothing I needed to buy for my child.”
After residing there for a year and a half, Aponte got a job working on the assembly line at Delphi, but Sister Margaret still called her all the time.
“Sister Margaret was big on saving money, saying there was a certain amount you can’t touch,” Aponte said.
“As I got on my feet, I was able to donate things to the Beatitude House.”
And Sister Margaret never gave up on Aponte, urging her to pursue a college degree. As a result, she got an associate degree in early childhood education and began to teach preschool. However, the school where she worked closed.
From there, even after Sister Margaret passed away, Aponte continued her education and received a bachelor’s degree in general studies from YSU this year.
“When I got my bachelor’s, I was old, but I did it,” Aponte said with a smile, adding that she did an internship at the Beatitude House as part of her course work.
She also finished her education while working for Mahoning County’s Help Me Grow Program, where she is a service coordinator, helping women with children under age 3.
“We make sure that they — mostly single moms but some families — get parenting education,” she said. “We get the parents connected with as many community resources as we can and make sure the children are developing well.”
“We give these women the encouragement that they need so they can go to school, graduate, and get good jobs,” said Aponte, who also is the mother of two daughters, age 9 and 14.
Considering her personal experience as a Beatitude House resident and her work with women in her job, Aponte said she is able to give other board members insight about how a woman feels.
“I work with women with very low self-esteem,” she said. “If I can leave a woman’s house and see a smile on her face, I tell her: ‘You’re a great mom. … Nothing’s going to hold you back.’
“The Beatitude House is a great program where women have someone to believe in them,” she said. “The support you get from everyone in the program is phenomenal.”
“When Sister Betty [Elizabeth Schuster] asked if I’d be interested in being on the board of directors, I was honored,” said Aponte, who will serve on the policy and program-education committees.
“At the [August] meeting, Sister Mary Alyce [Koval) mentioned how I helped get someone with a little boy into the exact same house I lived in.”
“They look at me and say ‘You did something,’” she said. “I’m glad I’m able to make them proud.”
“I think them allowing me to be part of the board also shows me they continue to believe in me 19 years later.”