A St. Petersburg woman struggling with life found a helping hand in an unlikely place.

  • Alpha House is a residential program that assists young women
  • Chasity Baker came to the home alone and pregnant
  • Baker is receiving a vehicle donated by Aaron Swift's law firm. Swift's mom was assisted by Alpha House when he was a toddler
  • Alpha House of Pinellas County

And it showed her a connection she could not have imagined.

Chasity Baker was 17, away from her family in Miami and the single mother of a newborn baby girl. Her prospects seemed bleak when she came in contact with the Alpha House.

The facility helps young women facing hardships, giving them support, a place to stay and resources to improve their lives. 

On Thursday, Baker will receive a donated vehicle to further her independence as she attends classes at St. Pete College.

"I cried every day for the first month," Baker said of when she first arrived at the house last year. "They taught me a lot. They taught me a lot of independence, how to be on my own, how to make things happen, how to take care of my daughter in a proper way."


During an Alpha House tour, board member and St. Pete attorney Aaron Swift saw a picture of his mother, who stayed at Alpha House when she was pregnant with Swift's younger sister. (BN9 image)

What makes the donation particularly special is that it's coming from a Bay area attorney who is familiar with the Alpha House. 

Aaron Swift, a St. Petersburg attorney, lived in the Alpha House when he was a young boy when his mother was pregnant with his younger sister.

"During the ribbon cutting, once we were done with renovations, the leadership program did a tour, and my mother and I walked back this hallway for the first time, and these pictures represent the history of Alpha House," Swift said. "She recognized this building and it’s in fact where she and I stayed with my brother, and she was pregnant at the time with my little sister at this original Alpha House location." 

Swift said he was about 3 years old at the time and doesn't remember much about being at the Alpha House. Now, however, he has made it his mission to help women at the home as much as he can. 

He sits on the Alpha House board, and his law firm paid for the van being given to Baker. 

"I cried right there because nobody has ever been that nice to me before and it was just, I have no words to describe how I felt," Baker said. "I was so thankful and I was astonished at the same time, it was amazing." 

And Baker said she wants to give back as much as she can. 

She said she plans to study law and pursue a career as a lawyer.