DALLAS — Alexandria Horsely is a planner.
"I planned out every aspect of my life, like I knew where I would get my master's, where I would get my doctorate, all of that," she said.
"Sometimes, our plan is not always God’s plan.”
Part of the plan for the former educator has always been to help young people
"I was the safety net for a lot of teen parents. They would come to me and share their stories," said Horsely.
On the outside, she's an education professional that's fighting to support teen moms. On the inside, she's fighting a battle of her own.
"After teaching for so long, I became really ill. I have an autoimmune disease," she said. "When I was in that place of uncertainty, I started to pray, 'OK, God, why do you have me here? What do you want me to do?'"
Those conversations led to what Horsely describes as her calling and purpose: the birth of the Lullaby House in the Bishop Arts District. The non-profit meets an immediate need of housing teen moms that are in foster care.
"In this home, we can actually hold four moms and four babies. The City of Dallas will only allow you to have eight people in a group home, so we can service those children here," she said.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reported over 600 pregnant and parenting foster teens in 2021.
Dallas has three zip codes with the highest teenage pregnancy rate, and Texas as a whole has the highest rate of repeat-teen births.
"Everybody wants to come in and adopt a baby, but they leave a teen in care," Horsely said.
With an overwhelmed foster care system, she wants to do more than just give teens a home.
"We strengthen families by keeping them together. How can you help a family when they're separated?" she said.
The Lullaby House will be providing care in and outside the home. Horsely says it's a "holistic programs with wraparound services."
"We're going to be offering them parenting skills. They're going to be doing life skills. We have a computer room, an education room," she said.
Their community care initiative offers everything from baby items assistance to family planning and reproductive health.
"We have to teach them about abstinence," said Horsely. "As I mentioned, teenage pregnancy, we're No. 1 at repeat births. Teach them why it's not a good idea."
This mission wasn't a part of Alexandria's original plan, but to her, it underscores why the work is necessary.
"We are helping these teen moms leave a legacy for their children," Horsely said. "We're not impacting one generation. We're impacting generations to come."
Watch our full interview with a teen who is being helped by Lullaby House: