CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2024 / 06:00 am
More maternity homes are popping up across the United States to house and support pregnant mothers and their babies since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.
According to the Maternity Housing Coalition’s most recent 2023 report, there are now more than 450 maternity homes in the U.S. — a 23% increase since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe.
While the more than 5,300 pregnancy centers outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 14 to 1, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the more than 400 maternity homes in the U.S. meet a different need that pregnancy centers often can’t fill — safe housing.
“We’ve seen maternity homes expand in the number of locations as well as the breadth of services offered,” said Valerie Harkins, director of the Maternity Housing Coalition.
“Many of these homes are providing holistic care to the woman in need with specialized services in areas of urgent need,” Harkins explained, noting that maternity homes often provide resources for addiction recovery, mental health support, and prevention for conditions that can develop during pregnancy, such as preeclampsia.
New centers sprouting up
A maternity home provides not only a place to live but also a “wraparound support community,” according to Catelin Curnes, house director for Selah Home, a maternity home in Kansas that opened its doors in September 2023.
“It includes a community of other mothers, a staff 24/7 support, medical care coordination, multiple therapies, case management, and spiritual guidance,” she said.
The shelter is operated by a local pregnancy care center called Insight Women’s Center (IWC), which provides resources, emotional support, and education for women with unplanned pregnancies.
Women may seek out maternity homes for a variety of reasons: prior drug use or incarceration, unexpected life events like the loss of a job or the death of a family member, or lack of support from the child’s father, Curnes explained.
“No two stories are alike,” she added. “We are honored to get to hear each story as we meet the women.”
Mary’s Comfort, another recently opened maternity home — this one in Virginia — was inspired “by a desire to ensure every expecting mother who is facing a difficult situation has the opportunity to find shelter, support, and a new beginning with her baby,” said Terri Moore, board member and communications manager for the shelter.
“Showing young mothers our love and support has always been important. It has never been okay to say ‘Choose life, but you’re on your own to figure it out,’” she told CNA.
“That said, the Supreme Court decision led to an awakening when it comes to the need among pregnant mothers,” she continued. “We welcome the renewed energy behind helping them.”
Planning for Mary’s Comfort began just after the overturn of Roe in 2022. A Catholic priest, Father Don Rooney, challenged his parishioners “to live out our belief in saying yes to life by helping pregnant women in crisis,” Moore explained. A small group of volunteers from St. Bernadette Catholic Church responded to the priest’s invitation.
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Over a year later, Mary’s Comfort opened and welcomed its first guests.
“We are blessed to have tremendous support from so many generous donors and volunteers,” Moore said. “It’s clear to us that people are eager to dedicate their time and treasure to demonstrating their belief in the value of every life.”
“It’s really inspiring,” she added. “We’re very grateful.”
‘A steady need’
There is a “steady need” for these shelters, according to maternity center leaders.
“Due to the economic crisis of our times, which includes inflation combined with the unaffordability of housing and day care, I’ve seen a steady need for maternity housing across diverse regions of the United States,” Harkins said.
Local maternity homes are challenged by the overwhelming need for their services.
“We can assure you of this: There are more moms seeking help than there are shelters,” Moore said. “We hope to open several more homes, but we won’t be able to meet all the need.”
In Kansas, Selah Home faces a similar problem.
“The need for our residential care program has far exceeded our expectations,” said Bridget Smith, who heads IWC, the pregnancy center that operates Selah Home. “In Kansas, it’s not only [that we’re] post-Roe but the fact that Kansas has become an abortion destination state.”
Abortion destination states do not protect unborn babies as much as neighboring states, making them “go-to states” for women seeking abortions.
“There are over 40 pregnancy resource centers in Kansas, and every center has stated their client’s No. 1 need is safe housing,” Smith explained.
Selah Home was founded after staff at IWC “saw a significant need for housing for pregnant women and their children,” Curnes added.
The home is usually at or near capacity at all times, Curnes explained. Since opening, they’ve housed 12 mothers, six infants, and three toddlers — and, as word of their existence spreads, she anticipates being more full, with a longer waitlist.
Curnes notes that the women who come to them are generally “in immediate crisis.” If the shelter has to put them on a waitlist, it often won’t be ready in time.
While many maternity homes are springing up, some have been around a long time, continuing to meet the needs pregnant women face.
Precious Life Shelter in Orange County, California, has been serving women for 35 years. The home offers emergency shelter for one to 30 days for pregnant women as well as longer-term “transitional” shelter and support if a woman goes through an application process and wishes to stay longer.
Precious Life is able to keep up with the demand largely because they’re an emergency shelter — they don’t need waitlists. Precious Shelter doesn’t permit any drugs or alcohol on the premises — so as long as women are willing to step up to that, they will be housed.
Theresa Murphy, head of Precious Life, said the shelter gets calls from women from all over the country. She said she hasn’t seen a large jump in California since Roe was overturned — just a steady need.
Anyone can help
Selah Home and Mary’s Comfort leaders hope to grow their services to meet the demand.
“With Selah Home being one of only two residential care programs in the state of Kansas, it has always been our intent to replicate this program,” Smith said.
Moore is also hoping to open a second and third shelter in Virginia, and she encourages others to get involved.
“Hopefully, others will be inspired to answer the call to provide support and hope to pregnant mothers in crisis,” Moore said. “The Holy Spirit will guide anyone interested.”
“We were just a small group of volunteers who knew absolutely nothing about setting up a shelter. Really. Nothing,” she said. “Yet, here we are.”
The volunteers visited a neighboring maternity home, Mary’s Shelter in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to learn how to operate a home. Founded in 2006, Mary’s Shelter now has a hub of six shared homes and has served more than 400 women. After visiting Mary’s Shelter, Moore explained that the team worked with lawyers and accountants on legalities and paperwork.
“Suddenly we were on our way,” Moore said. “Add to the equation so many other volunteers and donors — and away we went! It has been a beautiful testament to the generosity of the community — including several parishes from several denominations, Catholic and Lutheran, nondenominational and those just willing to help.”
Harkins encouraged people to become involved in their local maternity homes in some capacity.
“These organizations are helping to make ‘saying yes’ to fulfill a pregnancy a feasible choice for vulnerable women in the community,” Harkins said. “Supporting maternity homes can save lives in every community.”
Both Selah Home and Precious Shelter have said that maintaining volunteers is one of the most difficult parts of running a home.
“Working with women who’ve had complex trauma in their past can be very heart-wrenching. It’s not for everyone,” Curnes said. “After being open a year, we are still tweaking our staff model and seeking more centralized training for our team.”
“Staffing is the biggest issue,” Murphy agreed, noting that it’s difficult to find house directors willing to stay overnight. But, it can be very rewarding, she noted.
“The reason why I do what I do is I really do see the difference in a woman who makes the decision to have her child and begin that parenting process and then start to see success,” Murphy noted.
The faith behind maternity homes
Faith often plays a role in inspiring leaders and volunteers at these shelters.
Moore said the core group of volunteers is inspired by “a strong faith in God and belief that we, as Catholics and Christians, are called to live our faith by lifting up friends and strangers alike, especially to say ‘yes’ to life.”
Smith became especially passionate about helping young women facing unplanned pregnancies after her daughter had an unplanned pregnancy. Smith’s grandson turned 15 last month and she said through that experience, “God chipped away at some prejudices, judgments, and ugliness I had in my own heart.”
“I had no idea during that refining process he was preparing me for ministry at Insight Women’s Center,” she said.
But starting a maternity home took time — and Smith said she couldn’t have done it without God’s grace.
“Continually over the last 11 months at Selah Home, we’ve seen God’s hand move in situations which we thought were impossible,” she said. “We’ve witnessed heart changes and breakthroughs in our precious residents’ lives.”
