A home for unwed teenage mothers

When DeAna was six weeks old we moved from my mother, step-father and younger brother Cody's home in Torrington, Ct. We moved to St. Agnes, a home for teenage mothers as agreed to with my juvenile probation officer and the Department of Children and Families who were over seeing my case.
DCF was not involved because of any incident. They were involved because of age and my previous juvenile record put me as a high risk mother according to their system.

My mother drove me and my daughter to the big brick building called St. Agnes, located in West Hartford, CT. The building was once a home for nuns and was tucked into an upper-middle class neighborhood within walking distance to a strip mall.
http://www.stagneshome.org/who/index.shtml

This was not my first time living in an institution. From the beginning of 1990 to mid 1991 I will at Klingberg Family Center in New Britain Connecticut. From 1903-1970, it'd been an orphanage for children. When I lived there it was a residential therapeutic treatment center in what is commonly referred to as a group home, for children with behavioral needs.
http://klingberg.org/mission-aspirations/

I some what knew what to expect from St. Agnes as I'd left Klingberg only four years before arriving to St. Agnes. The building was stone and brick and surrounded by a shade of trees. A small fenced in play ground was to one side. We climbed a few stairs and rang the front door bell. We were greeted by a young mom caring a baby, and a woman with keys dangling from her neck stood behind her. I recognized her instantly as being "staff".
"Staff" were those who over saw the children living in the home, the pseudo parents of the place.

After introductions we were given a tour. On either side of the entry were offices. ( Shortly after my leaving I understand most of the home was remodeled) To our right was a hall that led to a two room day care center on site. Going straight from the front door and down, their was the "staff office to left and just past that a large living room with many couches and a television. To the right of the room was a large dining room and a kitchen, off of that a large play room, and a closed of sitting room.
Taking the door from the living room, you entered a hall with a payphone. If you went down stairs there numerous door, mostly opening to in house classrooms and offices, there was also a laundry room where we did our own wash.

If you took the stair case upstairs, it led to an L-shaped hall way. There were between fourteen and seventeen ( cant recall exactly) bedrooms. All box shaped, with their own door not much larger then a jail cell. Each room issued a single twin bed with sheets and hospital style bed spread, a crib, a built in closet, a single wire shelf above the bed, a small desk, a dresser a sink and a mirror. It seems like a lot of furniture but it was very very tiny in there. Especially for a mother of a baby and all the things a baby needs.

There was a very large bathroom with three or four school style toilet stalls, a changing table and a few shower stalls. A row of sinks of bathing babies in. Everything was very institutional.

After a bit of explaining from the staff to my mother, my mother and I said our good-byes. I was left to unpack and settle DeAna in. Then I would have to meet the other girls and begin our new life.