Melissa Solomon's face lights up when she talks about high-school graduation.

"After I'm done at Sutherland, I'll be at Capilano College for first and second year sciences and then I'm going to UBC for medicine," says the Grade 12 student.

Like her classmates at the North Vancouver secondary school, she is excited about graduating this year and full of plans for her future. But while her classmates' thoughts will soon turn to summer employment, tuition and student housing, Solomon will have other concerns, like the cost of diapers, child-care fees and night-time feedings.

"It's going to happen," Solomon says with determination, gently pushing a baby stroller back and forth to soothe her infant daughter, Charlotte, to sleep.

Solomon, 21, is enrolled in the Learning Together program, which provides support for young moms to attend school and build parenting skills while their children are provided with free quality day care right at the school site. She is one of 12 young moms in the program this year. That's higher than average enrolment for the program and it's a number that rises and falls from year to year, says Lisa Hubbard, program manager of child-care services for North Shore Neighbourhood House.

The North Vancouver-based not-for-profit charity runs the child-care centre on Sutherland school grounds and operates Learning Together in conjunction with the North Vancouver school district and other community partners.

Hubbard has worked with the program since its inception 12 years ago. The day care, a multi-room portable located on school grounds, has 24 spots for newborns to three-year-olds and offers care Mondays to Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Despite an overwhelming demand from within the community for quality child care, the facility never runs at capacity. That's so there are always openings for the children of young moms who enter the program in September and February, says Hubbard.

The monthly child-care fee, as high as $1,050 for full-time infant care, is waived for students enrolled in Learning Together. However, all those involved in the program are quick to point out that Learning Together is not simply free child care.

It's a circle of support for girls at risk, says Georgina Farah, a family support worker with North Shore Neighbourhood House.

"The Learning Together child-care centre is a hub of activity. That's where I go and I informally ask people: How are they (the infants) doing? Do you have enough food? How is baby sleeping? How are you doing? How are you feeling these days?," explains Farah, who also facilitates a Tuesday evening pregnant and parenting teen program and parents together support group, at North Shore Neighbourhood House….

Learning Together is a bridge to other programs that operate under the umbrella of North Shore Neighbourhood House, like Sweet Peas nutritional cooking classes for moms on a tight budget and Mother Goose story-time drop-ins for parents and tots. And it connects the teens with support workers who can help with finding affordable housing, arranging for free transit passes and co-ordinating other services.

"A lot of information gets exchanged about the needs of the teenagers that are in the program. And often, young pregnancy is part of a larger issue; it's just one of the challenges that some of the girls face," says Negreiff.

Those challenges include but are not limited to poverty and isolation.

"They face a number of barriers, not just poverty and low income," says Farah. "While they all have homes, they are vulnerable to being homeless. Not many landlords like to rent to single parents with young babies, especially if they are 17 or 18, so they're often not in the best accommodations. Then there are a lot of relationship issues; as you can probably imagine with young parents trying to raise a child, it often doesn't work. And then there are custody issues they have to deal with."

Hunger is another issue. "Many are struggling to raise their babies, go to high school and live on welfare. A lot of the times they come in and they are quite hungry. Their babies are fed but as moms they are often the last one to look after themselves," says Farah.

Learning Together provides meals for the children in care. Recognizing there is a greater need, it also has an "open fridge" policy for the young parents, with bagels and cream cheese, granola bars and fresh fruit among the nutritious items on offer. To date, organizers have been running the breakfast-lunch program at a deficit and have this fall turned to the business community for support. Negreiff said the mothers' meal program costs about $9,000 annually to fund; North Shore Neighbourhood House is asking for cash donations to offset that cost.

"What we're aiming to do is to provide a steady lunch program," said Farah. The young moms really need that. They're doing this against all odds -- going to high school, raising a child and feeding themselves along with their babies."

The meal program is something that would benefit teens like Christine Thomas, a Grade 10 student whose seven-month-old son Drake is in care at the school site. Thomas, 16, visits Drake during breaks between classes and eats lunch with him daily at the child-care centre, which is a requirement of the Learning Together program. A nutritious lunch would be a break from cafeteria food, Thomas' typical lunchtime fare, and would allow the teen more time with her son and the support workers on site.

It would also allow Thomas time to visit with and learn from other parents in the program, like Jaimi Zammit, 20, who is in her second year of Learning Together.

A mother of two, Zammit is completing Grade 12 this semester while her daughter Ciara, 2, and son Leon, 1, are in care. Standing in the child-care centre with Ciara at her side and Leon at play nearby, Zammit talks about the support she receives from Learning Together. "In the morning I come in a bit early and have a cup of coffee before going in there," she says, gesturing towards the main school building as if she were going into battle.

Upon graduation, the young mom hopes to land a secretarial job and will consider more schooling after that, she says. Would she be looking at a future full of possibilities without the support of Learning Together? "Probably not, to be honest," Zammit says. "I wouldn't be working. I wouldn't be going to school. No. This program is pretty damn special."