CLEVELAND — Charlesretta Wynn said she’s teaching a lesson about how to process emotions around your baby.
“How (are) you feeling today?” Wynn asked her client, Makia Jackson.
She said she provides support during home visits for MomsFirst, an organization that’s dedicated to helping Cleveland moms deliver and raise healthy babies. She’s helped Jackson through two pregnancies.
“Miss Wynn (has) provided services for other members of my family, and they swear by her name. So I sought her out, and since then, I swear by her name, too,” Jackson said.
Wynn said she works as a community health worker. For the last 31 years, she’s addressed concerns that contribute to raising a healthy baby, like feeding and safe sleeping environments.
“Women would lose a baby 31 years ago if they didn’t have support,” Wynn said. “Sometimes women were sleeping with their baby. Some of the deaths could have been preventable.”
She said she got into the business during the crack epidemic.
Wynn added she wanted to help provide resources to those in need when other clinics wouldn’t.
“Can you imagine a woman who’s going through something, and she go to the clinic, and she got a little odor, and they turn their nose, you know. And that made me mad,” Wynn said.
The MomsFirst program helps families until their child reaches 18 months. Wynn said her work also includes building long-lasting relationships with the families that she visits.
“You know, I see some of the clients that’s been in the program years later, the kids (are) graduating out of high school, going to college. That benefits me,” Wynn said.
If you’re interested in learning more about about the program, please visit their website.
