The LIFTS Podcast

Tehya Tiegen - Home Visiting and Hope

• Season 5 • Episode 11

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0:00 | 16:53

Guest Bio: 

Tehya Teigen is a 29-year-old proud mother of two and the wife of a Navy veteran. She is a recovering addict who believes in second chances, healing, and the power of self-love. Her journey serves as a reminder that recovery is possible and that every day is a new opportunity to rise stronger than before.

Episode Details:

In this episode of the LIFTS Podcast, host Emily Freeman talks with Tehya Tigan, a Helena mom of two, about how Montana’s home visiting programs supported her family through pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting.

Tehya shares how home visiting offered her more than information—it offered connection, advocacy, and encouragement at a time when she needed it most. She opens up about her journey through recovery, motherhood, and rebuilding life after addiction and legal challenges, reminding us that every parent deserves support and a chance to thrive.

Topics in this episode include:

  • What home visiting is and how it works in Montana
  • How home visitors support families with breastfeeding, car seat safety, and more
  • The importance of advocacy and trust between home visitors and families
  • Overcoming stigma around recovery and criminal records
  • Finding hope and purpose through parenting

Resources mentioned:

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Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, check out the LIFTS online resource guide at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

Emily Freeman, HMHB-MT: 0:04

Welcome to season five of the LIFTS podcast, where we connect with parents, caregivers, providers, and advocates for Montana families in the early years of parenting. Through personal stories of lived experience and expert insights, we highlight the people and programs that are helping families thrive.

Tehya: 0:21

I'm Taya Tigan and I am a mom of two and I live in Helen, Montana.

Emily : 0:26

Well thanks for being here today. So we are here today to talk about home visiting. Can you just briefly define what home visiting is?

Tehya: 0:36

Yeah, so home visiting for me was something that was a great resource for me and my kids and my whole family, my husband included. It was something that gave me resources and recommendations. Whenever I needed help with something or needed more understanding of something my home visitor always gave me those resources to either learn more about it or she taught me.

Emily : 1:00

Okay. And how did you first hear about the home visiting program that you participated in? Through the WIC program. And this is something that was available to anyone? Or was it something you were expected to do or required to do, or it was just optional?

Tehya: 1:14

It was all optional. It was something that was recommended and offered to me and I took my first grab at it and I said, yep, I'm doing that. Mm-hmm.

Emily : 1:21

Nice. And that first time that a home visitor showed up. Were you nervous or were you just excited? 

Tehya: 1:28

I was a little nervous. It was, right before COVID had happened. Mm-hmm. So, I was kind of in the midst of that. I had my first meeting with her. She came over. It was great. We kind of got to know each other and then COVID hit, so then everything was virtual. Mm-hmm. So then everything was over Zoom calls, stuff like that. And then. I got a new home visitor because the one I currently had, I only had for about two or three weeks. Mm-hmm. And then I got my other one and I was with her for the whole duration of both of my kids. For about four years.

Emily : 1:56

Oh, wow. That's great. Yeah. And how often did you connect with her? Was it on an as needed basis or was there a schedule to it?

Tehya: 2:03

There was usually a schedule. Bare minimum, usually once a month, sometimes two. Kind of like whenever we wanted to connect, we did. It was great. We could meet at parks. It wasn't always in your home, so if you're not comfortable with doing it in your home, that wasn't always necessary. You could do it at the park. My sister also does it and she goes to the park every time that she meets hers.

Emily : 2:23

That's great. So it's really flexible depending on your comfort level, your needs. So for somebody listening who maybe doesn't really know what home visiting is, what are some of the types of support what are some of the kinds of things that you talked about or got sought out support for with your home visitor?

Tehya: 2:39

So for instance, my husband didn't know a whole lot about like how the birthing process would go, how postpartum would happen. So he got to know a lot of that. I grew up in a very big family. So I'm very used to that. I'm the oldest of five and then my mom has seven brothers and sisters and I have a huge family, so I'm very used to all of that where he is an only child, the only grandson. So he is very much not used to that. So he got to learn a lot about that prior to it actually happening. Some other stuff is most of your home visitors are gonna be car seat safety certified. So they were able to help us install car seats and making sure that they were installed properly. And then breastfeeding was a huge thing for me. With my daughter I had a lot of problems. She had thrush and stuff like that, so she was giving that to me and it really made my milk supply plummet. So with my second, I really got to learn a lot and ask questions and really be able to keep up on that milk supply because they're also breastfeeding lactation specialists. So that was really great.

Emily : 3:41

It's an incredible resource.

Tehya: 3:42

I feel like sometimes like when you're in that position, like you're kind of pressured. What questions do I ask? Like what do I say to these people? Yeah, and something that was really beneficial for us is that they do have a printout of different categories and questions of things that you can ask that you wouldn't think of before. And so you can look at a piece of paper and be like, oh my gosh, I never thought of that. That's great question to ask.

Emily : 4:03

That's true. All that pressure to, for you to be the one to know the questions, to ask about something that you don't know about, you know? Right. It's like ironic. And have you recommended home visiting to anyone you know?

Tehya: 4:15

Yes, my sister. So my sister does it and she's still going through with it. That was the first person. Soon as she got pregnant I was like, you have to do this, you know, because she was brand new to being a mom. It was her first kid. And I was like, it was so beneficial. So first thing I did was recommend it, and it's been extremely helpful for her.

Emily : 4:32

So it can begin as soon as you become pregnant. And we're talking in specifically the program you participated in. So in that case, as soon as you're pregnant, you can opt into this thing. Have you ever found that you've been chatting with anyone who maybe has some different ideas that home visiting is only for people who are under-resourced or is there any stigma around home visiting that you've noticed?

Tehya: 4:54

I don't think so. I've gotten lots of questions though from people and they're like, well, what is that? And I'm just like, oh, well let me tell you.

Emily : 5:01

Yeah. So maybe it's just a lack of awareness that it exists. Yeah. I think it's a little bit of a lack of awareness.

Tehya: 5:04

Before doing the WIC program. I was never aware of it. And so I'm really thankful that whoever I had during that time mentioned it to me. So I do think that maybe it needs to be put out there a little bit more'cause it's a great program.

Emily : 5:18

From my understanding, the availability of home visiting programs and the details are different across Montana. So we'll put some resources in the show notes for this episode about how to connect to home visiting in your community no matter where you're listening from. Were there any specific issues or areas that your home visitor was particularly helpful with for you?

Tehya: 5:42

I think that the most thing was just breastfeeding. That was my number one goal with having my second was breastfeeding. And he also had a lot of health issues in the very beginning, so she was really helpful in all of that. He did have a dairy allergy and he had something called hypertonia and he had a cardio issue. And so it was just a range of things that we had a lot going on. She was extremely helpful with finding resources, recommending things, getting us into the right places making calls where we needed her to. She really advocated for us to be able to get into places even when our pediatricians weren't advocating for us. Yeah. So that was really helpful for us.

Emily : 6:24

Just that idea of having someone there to encourage you not to give up. Or to help you recognize when it is an appropriate time to give up if there's something that you're trying so hard, but your stress and health are suffering as a result. But also, having someone who can advocate for you because not everyone feels comfortable self advocating or has the time or skills to hop on the phone with a specialist and ask questions or set an appointment. To have just that other person who has more bandwidth to just pick up the phone on your behalf and connect those dots for you, and it doesn't have to be entirely your burden, right?

Tehya: 6:57

I also remember when I first started seeing Marissa, that was my home visitor. And I had my first daughter and I was still trying to get like my legal stuff and. In a line and get my ducks in a row, and I was going to court. I remember Marissa would even go to court with me. Mm-hmm. And she would sit with my daughter and she would advocate for me in court and she wrote letters for me advocating for me. Those are all things too. They're not just doing the bare minimum and just coming in and saying, hi, bye, hope you're doing well. Yeah. Like they're really advocating for you and helping you. Yeah. In all areas of your life.

Emily : 7:29

Okay, so let's talk about recovery. So you are a proudly sober mom in recovery.

Tehya: 7:34

Yeah, I am very proud of what I have grown into. I used for a long duration of my life, and I now have, I think, almost 10 years sober. So yeah.

Emily : 7:48

Congratulations. And how did that additional support of a home visitor help?

Tehya: 7:55

I was a single mom. I think no matter what, home visiting is extremely beneficial, but for single mothers, for recovering addicts, for all different walks of life, and then into my second child, I was then happily married and I had a support system and it was still beneficial. All walks of life benefit from it and I think it's a great resource.

Emily : 8:17

Yeah. So, anyone would benefit and then anyone with an additional challenge would benefit maybe even more. Yes. What would you say to someone who maybe is curious about home visiting, but feels self-conscious about it? Or feels like my problems aren't bad enough. What would you say?

Tehya: 8:34

I would say that, once again, it doesn't matter what walk of life you come from. It doesn't matter if you have a full support system and everybody to help you and a whole tribe of people to help you. It doesn't matter if it's just you alone or just you and your partner. I think that they're beneficial and that you are allowed to take those resources. You take them and you use them.

Emily : 8:57

Yeah. Well, and the more people that use them, the more it demonstrates the need. Yes.

Tehya: 9:01

It keeps it up. And we can keep it around.

Emily : 9:04

So you have some additional challenges to your Yes. Parenting journey. Do you wanna talk about that a little bit? 

Tehya: 9:11

I do. So in the midst of my addiction, I did get a felony for possession. I was an IV user of methamphetamine for a long duration. And that led me to doing things and getting caught with the law. And I ended up getting a felony in the state of Washington. And then I ended up moving to Oregon after that. And that is where I spent the first year of my sobriety. Which was pretty easy. I went into a sober living program in Oregon. And then I got pregnant with my first daughter and I ended up coming home after being in an abusive relationship. It was really difficult. It was really hard to come back into the real world after, being someplace where they do have a sober living program and they helped you get a job and they did all the things for you and rent wasn't necessary. I had housing. Then when I came home I had none of that. I had no means of being able to just have a roof over my head. My parents were gracious enough to let me stay with them until I found my own place, but I remember getting denied and denied and denied after house application, after job applications, and it was really difficult. Thank God for my mother who worked at a establishment here in town and was able to advocate for me and get me a job. Not everybody has that. Not everybody has connections like that and it can be really difficult. Then even after I quit that job and I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, and then entering the workforce again was extremely difficult again to find a job and people that would accept me. You know, I remember a time where I would go into an interview and just sit down. The very first thing I said was, hi, my name is Tehya and I'm a felon. Right. I'm not here to waste your time and I don't want you to waste mine. Yeah. It was really difficult because I would do great interviews and they would love me, and then as soon as they found out about my background, they'd say, Nope. And I'd never hear from'em again.

Emily : 11:12

Yeah. In spite of your having worked so hard to maintain your sobriety, rebuild your life, demonstrating that you're, an excellent candidate for a job, and is that something that you will have forever? It's forever.

Tehya: 11:25

There is a little bit of options in Washington, but it's a lot of money and, you know, not everybody has that amount of money. You're talking buying a lawyer by the hour. Yeah. And paying the fines and the fees. It's just something that I don't have the money currently for, and so I've kind of put it on the back burner.

Emily : 11:43

Yeah. Wow. Have you found though that smaller employers or have you found that there are people who. So when I found to,

Tehya: 11:51

When I first was trying to find an apartment, I remember coming to my current apartment, I still live here after what, five years now? And I remember looking at her and I said, I'm a felon. And I said, is that going to affect this because at this time I had put in so many application fees. You're talking$40,$50. You know, the whole shebang. And, I remember looking at her and I said, I'm a felon. Is this going to affect me living here? I said, I'm not going to apply. She said, do you have a job? And I said, yeah. And she goes, can you pay rent? And I said, yeah. And she goes, okay, well it's yours. And so there's great people out there. Yeah, but you have to talk through it. You know? There is some good people out there who are willing to do it. It's just finding those people and weeding through and trying to do it is the hard part.

Emily : 12:37

Yeah. And going back to that topic of advocacy and self-advocacy, I think sometimes it depends on that human connection and so for you to be able to present yourself a certain way and explain who you are, or to have someone in your life, whether it's a home visitor or a family member or someone else to say, Hey, can you give this person a chance because they are really solid. This is a part of their story from a while back.

Tehya: 13:04

It doesn't define me now and that's been the hardest part is rebuilding and trying to prove myself. That even though it was so long ago, and people can look at my record all they want and they can see it was from a long time ago, but I'm not the same person and I've changed.

Emily : 13:20

Were you using during pregnancy?

Tehya: 13:22

No. I think I had about seven or eight months sobriety before getting pregnant.

Emily : 13:28

Okay. What do you want listeners to have stuck in their head or take away from this episode? It's inspiring to hear how much you've turned your life around.

Tehya: 13:40

I really have. I was in an extremely abusive relationship, even before my daughter. I was in about a four year long extremely, extremely abusive relationship. And that's why I had ended up getting caught up in Washington State was because I was currently still using, but I said, you know what? I'm not doing this anymore. I got in the car and I left. I ended up getting pulled over and then I got caught the drugs that I had on me. And I'll say until the end of time, that was the best thing that ever happened to me. I think that if I wouldn't have gotten caught, went to jail. Done all of these things, I think that I would've ended up dead, either from drugs or my abuser. And now I have an amazing life. I have two beautiful children and I am happily married. And I've really made a life for myself.

Emily : 14:30

Do you ever think about doing peer recovery work?

Tehya: 14:33

I've thought about it. So I did work for Florence Crittenton for a while and it just wasn't aligning with our schedule at the time. My husband works for Montana Highway Patrol. He's a dispatcher, so his schedule's a little wonky. Sure. And so, I did end up quitting there. I am currently in my bachelor's program. I wanted to be an addictions counselor for a long time. I don't know if that's still what I wanna do, but. I am in my bachelor's program for a psychology program right now. Nice. And I'm about three years into it, so yeah.

Emily Freeman, HMHB-MT: 15:04

Good for you. That's great. One of the guests that we have lined up, there's a recovery doula program that they have. It's doula, support for women in recovery who are pregnant or just had a baby. 

Tehya: 15:17

I love that so much because I, I talked my whole life about being a doula because, if I could have more kids, I would do it. 

Emily : 15:23

I'm gonna send you this link. 

Tehya: 15:25

One thing I love was with my last son, I did my whole birth natural and I had no pain meds or anything. And ever since I did that, I was like, women's bodies are amazing. Like, I just wanna do this for a living. I've always talked about it, so that's really funny.

Emily : 15:42

I think this work that you're doing with the addictions counselor stuff lines up really nicely with doula work because it's just a reality that there are a lot of women right in the zero to three years of parenting who also are struggling with substance use. So yeah. Any, any final thoughts? Anything you wanna say to listeners, whether it's providers or other moms?

Tehya: 16:02

I don't think so. I think that we covered a lot and I feel good about it.

Emily : 16:05

Okay. Awesome. Well, thank you for your time today. It was really great to talk to you. 

Tehya: 16:09

You too.

Emily Freeman: 16:13

The LIFTS Podcast is a project of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies The Montana Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health, safety, and wellbeing of Montana families in the zero to three years of parenting. Visit us at hmhb-mt.org to learn more about who we are and what we do. Views and opinions expressed in these interviews do not necessarily represent HMHB as an organization. If you have feedback on the podcast or an idea for a future guest or episode, we'd love to hear from you. Take our LIFTS podcast listener survey at hmhb-mt.org/survey or email us at stories@hmbmt.org.