Displaying items by tag: maternity home

Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) applies scientific evaluation methods to better understand and unleash effective poverty interventions. LEO works side-by-side with our service provider partners at no cost to design and implement a research approach that’s both rigorous and respectful of every person it involves.

Partnership Summary

LEO has partnered with five homes to launch a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of emergency maternity housing. As a byproduct of participating in the study, homes receive grant money, weekly and direct support (both virtual and on-site) and access to the data as they go that can help with fundraising. Limited capacity of the maternity homes involved in the study keeps them from providing every mother in the region they serve with a placement into the maternity home and access to services. To allocate beds fairly, the LEO research team introduced a lottery for open beds. Researchers then compare those who do not receive a bed to those who do receive a bed and the home’s services over time. The outcomes that the research team is tracking include the mother’s custody of the new baby, mother’s well-being, housing stability, employment and education as well as well-being of the new baby, through a research approach that’s both rigorous and respectful of every person it involves.

Who is a good fit for the study?

Ideal candidates for this partnership are committed to implementing the already operating RCT at their site and must meet the following criteria:

• Houses serving a total of 15 new moms per year minimum, whether that includes new moms moving in and out, or current moms staying the whole year.
• Houses which are currently operating a waitlist or turning moms away because of lack of beds.
• Must be willing to add research-specific questions to application.
• Must be willing to implement a lottery to give all moms a fair chance of obtaining a bed in the home.

Why Partner with LEO?

Our research is free. You continue to offer services. We pay for research. It’s pretty brave to be willing to test what you do. We don’t want money to be a barrier to learning. You got into this work to make a difference. Impact starts with knowing. We want to support that vision you have for your life and your work. More evidence means more money. Philanthropists are asking more questions about organizational impact. Being able to answer these questions helps you raise money to support your mission. A partnership with LEO allows you to be a better equipped leader and make informed decisions about your program like where to grow or invest. LEO also provides weekly and direct support (virtual and on-site). LEO research is third-party validation of your work and carries the trust of the Notre Dame brand.

As most of you know, the Maternity Housing Coalition is powered by Heartbeat International to strengthen maternity homes in various stages of development ranging from start-ups to well-established homes. But did you know that the MHC is intentionally guided by a Leadership Council? The Council is made up of maternity housing leaders with diverse representations of staffing models, programs, interdenominational faith practices, and sizes of housing organizations. This generous body of leaders volunteer their experiences and insight to serve the well-being of affiliated maternity housing programs across the country by providing input, guidance, and training opportunities. 

Vicki Krnac - Leadership Council Chair

Before coming to Hannah’s Home Vicki was a teacher that specialized in teaching reading to kids with dyslexia. When she was going through a personally challenging time of life, Jesus became very real to her and taught her that He was always there and loved her. As she learned more about Him, and His work of salvation and how that affected her life, God called her to serve at Hannah’s Home on the Board of Directors. It wasn't long before she realized that as a single mom God was calling her to use her gifts to serve women who were hurting and broken like herself. She serves at HH because God has called her there and she seeks to live her life by doing what He asks of her.  She loves each of the women as if they are her own children. The relationships that are formed give her hope and keep her going.

Amber Hornsby

Amber has a degree in Social Work and has been serving for 10+ years in the US and internationally in human resources and service projects. Her prior work experiences have developed her current skill sets to work with people across demographics, relationally and administratively. Amber’s role within ESTHER Homes is not only administrative, but she works and lives with the families to map out and research different resource options that best meet their direct needs. 

Peggy Forrest

Peggy Forrest has served as President of Our Lady’s Inn since 2011; and in 2019 was named President & Chief Executive Officer. In this leadership role she oversees all executive functions to include administration, development, finance, human resources, and in conjunction with the Board - strategic planning. Peggy has more than thirty years of business experience in the corporate environment, demonstrating excellence in executive leadership.

Peggy has been a lifelong pro-life advocate, participating in prayer and advocacy efforts for the unborn which includes presenting testimony before Missouri State Legislative committees considering pro-life legislation. With Peggy at the helm, Our Lady’s Inn took the lead in filing a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis following its enactment of “abortion sanctuary city” ordinances; the City was defeated in federal court. Since her tenure at Our Lady’s Inn began, she has been instrumental in the opening of a number of maternity homes in Missouri and surrounding states. 

Leona Bicknese

Leona Bicknese has been working with women in crisis since 1998. She says one of the major blessings in her life has been serving as director of three maternity homes. She has also served as Chief of Operations of a PRC. She earned a BS in Business, an MBA and a Doctor of Biblical Studies in Biblical Counseling. Leona currently serves as President/CEO of Road 2 Hope Maternity Home in Beaverton, OR. She is blessed to serve on the leadership teams of the Maternity Housing Coalition and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview - Portland Cohort.  

Sue Baumgarten

Sue Baumgarten lives in Houston, Texas where she has been part of the pregnancy help movement since the early 90’s. Introduced through her church to LifeHouse of Houston (a maternity housing ministry), she has volunteered, served on and chaired the board of directors, lived in the home as house mom (with her family), and led the ministry as Executive Director. Sue currently serves on their board as the Development Chair.

She also serves nationally on the Maternity Housing Coalition’s Leadership Council (2019-present) and The National Christian Housing Conference Leadership Team (2017-present).

Beckie Perez

Beckie Pérez is wife of Mike and mother to four children. A San Diego native, Beckie is the co-founder of the 29:Eleven Maternity Home (along with her husband) which opened in 2017. In addition to serving as 29:Eleven’s Executive Director, Beckie also serves on the Leadership Council of the Maternity Housing Coalition. Of her professional achievements which include a B.A., M.A. and California Teaching Credential, Beckie is most proud of her designation as a Life Affirming Specialist (LAS) through Heartbeat International.

Suzanne Burns

Suzanne Burns, MS, CFTP founded and leads a thriving maternity home in Tennessee.  This home has served over 120 mothers and their children through residential services and an additional 500 families through its non-residential program. Suzanne and her team also manage a job training program, where clients are employed while they gain hands-on, practical job skills. 

Suzanne now trains compassionate, overwhelmed kingdom leaders to start maternity homes in their own communities. Suzanne has trained hundreds of teams to implement practical tools to transform the lives of mothers in crisis.  

There has been quite a bit of buzz around this topic since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ministries across the country have found themselves on vacillating ends of the spectrum between empty and full houses with burgeoning waiting lists. So why the variance?

I recently spoke with homes from different regions of the country, each with varied programming models, ministry models, and eligibility criteria. I found that the homes with low occupancy rates (For the purposes of this writing, “low” will be less than 25%) repeatedly described their experiences of receiving calls from women in the community inquiring about their home or even interviewing some women, however, these women did not meet the criteria to be eligible to move into the home. Reasons ranged from past or current drug use, criminal record, previous pregnancies, previous children removed from care, children currently in care, or perhaps a generally poor attitude. Needless to say, this can be an exhausting daily merry-go-round for ministries. 

Many of us serving in maternity housing ministries have found ourselves in similar shoes! The lives of our residents can be complicated and the definition of “success” is admittedly subjective. Using a tool such as the Evaluation Matrix for Maternity Homes, which you will find cost-free in the Heartbeat affiliation tools for maternity homes, can help to provide an objective and quantifiable measure of progress in the lives of residents. 

It is important to provide data on a few specific outcomes that are directly related to your mission statement, typically about 3-5 outcomes. Our recommendation is to internally measure a wide variety of indicators (about 10-15) and externally present the selected few. This will help guide the public in awareness of specifically how your mission statement is affecting the community as well as keep you equipped with relevant data about many areas of a resident’s progress to have on hand for conversations with donors.

by Sharisa McDaniel, Transitional Living Program Manager at Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma

The setting of a Maternity Home and Transitional Living offers a unique opportunity to influence the parenting practices of residents and family dynamics for generations to come.  At Madonna House and St. Elizabeth Lodge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, team members observe parenting practices that range from healthy and loving to harsh and disconnected.  In an effort to positively shape the futures of the families in the programs, the Transitional Living team at Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma regularly examines the environmental influences and program initiatives to promote bonding and connectedness.  As the family programming at Madonna House and St. Elizabeth Lodge has developed and evolved, the following adjustments have been made to the environment:

• Most “containers” (bouncy seats, swings, bumbos, exersaucers, etc.) removed from the maternity home to promote mothers holding their babies.
• Rolling basinets were removed to promote mothers holding their babies rather than pushing them down the hallways.
• “Stroller Parking” was established to promote mother’s holding and carrying their babies in the home, rather than pushing them in strollers or keeping them contained in car seats.
• “No Phone Zones” established in offices to encourage mothers to find more appropriate means of entertaining their children during provider appointments (toys instead of screens).
• Songs, rhymes, and games are posted throughout the home to promote positive interactions between mothers and their children.
• The program curfew establishes healthy routines for mom and baby.

Catholic Charities has also established a Family Enrichment position to pro-actively educate parents on child development and to offer experiences that help to build healthy bonds. With a background of teaching early childhood education for nearly 20 years, Angela Grissom brings her experience and her passion for educating parents to the Family Enrichment role. Residents of Madonna House and St. Elizabeth Lodge meet with Angela every week to participate in parent-child activities and learn positive parenting practices. The Family Enrichment program offers:

• Talking is Teaching, a city-wide campaign that promotes reading to children ages 0-5 and provides free books and parenting curriculum.
• Readers to Leaders, another early childhood reading program that also includes songs, rhymes, and games that provide bonding experiences for mothers and their little ones.
• Education and guidance on the PACEs (the flip side of ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) – Positive and Compensatory Experiences), 10 experiences children need to live successful lives.
• I Love You Rituals by Dr. Becky Bailey– bonding songs, rhymes, and games that include eye contact, touch, playfulness, and presence.
• The Whole Brain Child by Dr. Daniel J. Seigel and Tina Payne – Parenting strategies that promote connection before correction.
• The Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Program – Each session includes a parent-child interaction, development-centered parenting education, and family well-being guidance.

With these efforts, mothers report:

• learning new parenting methods that focus on a bond of love,
• creating healthy routines that benefit their babies development and sleep schedule,
• establishing rituals that provide a sense of meaning in their family routines,
• establishing habits of reading with their children,
• using Whole Brain strategies to successfully navigate difficult behaviors,
• greater awareness of the experiences that influence their children’s success in life and school.

The Family Enrichment program at Madonna House and St. Elizabeth Lodge is a pro-active approach to influencing strong bonds within resident families for years to come.

by Peggy Forrest

Most of us would agree that any organization’s ability to successfully carry out its mission is tied to the quality of its leadership. Be that a President, CEO, or Executive Director - the effectiveness of that person’s leadership, makes a difference. So, it’s easy to understand why it is mission critical to ensure the next leader will be the correct one, and the transition from one leader to the next will be as smooth as possible. This is especially true in maternity housing because of the deeply personal nature of the work. Leadership transition is critically important, and having a plan guiding that effort will help reduce the stresses which accompany such a transition. Succession planning takes focus and effort. It involves the Board of Directors working in partnership with the current leader.

A succession plan has three main goals:

• Guide the Board in the recruitment and selection of new leadership.
• Facilitate a smooth transition
• Maintain continuity of operations and organizational sustainability

A succession plan contemplates:

• Planned departures
• Unplanned departures
• Internal talent development

A succession plan should include:

• A timetable - from notice to end of transition period
• A review of organization’s strategic direction
• The development of a leadership profile
• A recruitment strategy
• An onboarding and transition plan
• A communication strategy

Regardless of the age of your Agency, or the tenure of your leader, succession planning may be a timely and important topic to address during your Agency’s next strategic planning efforts.

Listen in to a podcast from Mary Peterson and Emily Prins on the same topic of succession planning!

Heartbeat International has additional information related to succession planning in our Governing Essentials Manual. Click here to find out more.

Have you been catching Mary's Quick Tips on Facebook? Join the National Maternity Housing Coalition Facebook group to keep getting tips like this one from Mary Peterson.

by Ellen Foell, International Program Specialist, Heartbeat International and Faith Bohlin, Program Manager, Aid for Women

In November 2020, Ellen Foell and Faith Bohlin engaged in an informal conversation on the topic of increasing cultural competency as part of the “Power Conversation” series. This article is a loose representation of that conversation, which is available in its entirety here. 

Be humble.

• There is general cultural competency (e.g. like exercising humility and understanding that you don’t understand) as well as specific cultural competencies related to being knowledgeable about traditions, customs, and principles of specific ethnic groups. Start with general principles and then learn about the specific cultures that God has placed you in.
• Have the humility to apologize when necessary and to seek forgiveness.
• Ask permission -- Can I hug you? Can I touch your baby?  It is a signal of respect and humility.

Listen very deeply and ask good questions.

• Things like volume of communication, hand gestures, pace of interaction vary significantly. Take your cues from the person you are interacting with.  As Ellen Foell described it, “Listen with your eyes. Mirror what you are seeing.”
• Here are some sample questions for your consideration:
  • What would normally happen in your community / culture?
  • What is customary around ____ (pregnancy, birth, birthdays, etc.)?
  • Can you please explain _____ to me?
  • Is there a hidden consequence for moving into our program? For participating with our organization? Does it affect your family?
  • Teach me your favorite food or favorite _____.

Be aware of and celebrate differences.

• Some cultures are based in honor/shame principles which affect everything from identity, family dynamics, how I present myself in my community, and more. Having an “punishment mentality” (i.e. if you do this, I will do this) with your organizational culture may have unintended consequences for those from a honor/shame based tradition.
• “I like to use the language of ‘tribe’ (i.e. we are a tribe) for our homes. A tribe is composed of multiple family units, each with their own traditions and ways of doing things.  For me, that is a much more accurate description of what we are creating in our housing program,” described Faith Bohlin. Food is an easy way to explore those differences and celebrate them as a community activity.
• One effective starting place would be to investigate the “culture of poverty.” As Faith described, “It encompasses all ethnic cultures and really is a culture all to its own that has a big impact of the vulnerable women we serve.”

Recommended Resources

Ruby Payne.  A Framework for Understanding Poverty and/or Bridges out of Poverty

Duane Elmer.  Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility

https://www.globalcognition.org/blog/

by Mary Peterson, LAS, Housing Specialist
Heartbeat International

Aretha arrived to Maggie's Place in March 2017, just eight weeks pregnant with her daughter Zoe. She arrived with over 20 years of drug and alcohol use and a history of prostitution. “I came from chaos and darkness and stepped into a sanctuary of peace,” she described. “It was the love and sacrifice that the staff gave me that made me feel like I was part of a family.”

During her time, she described running “home” – to the maternity home – when temptations for relapse were high. “I was given time to grow and heal, to be loved and encouraged” she said, “I loved just eating together and celebrating one another.” One special memory involves watching one of the staff members read to a baby. “I had never seen that,” Aretha remembered, “It made me start collecting books and now, I read to my daughter all the time.”

“For me, having the ongoing services after I moved out played a huge role in my sobriety,” Aretha spoke with conviction. After moving into a transitional apartment, she participated in parenting groups, ongoing therapy, Mommy & Me groups, and attachment groups, all offered as ongoing services for former residents. Aretha mentioned that the feeling of connection, the feeling of being a part of a family, was vital to her. The maternity home had become her family and leaving that home environment was tough. “I just decided to take advantage of anything they offered,” she joked. “I needed it. In fact, as we would drive up to the outreach center, Zoe would say, ‘we are home!’” 

“At a Christmas event, I remember looking at the staff handing out gifts, and I thought to myself, ‘I want that.’" In November 2020, that dream was realized when Aretha became a full-time member of the outreach staff associated with the post-residential program of Maggie’s Place. “It’s a dream come true,” she described, “I get to give and be a part of what they are doing here.”

“I know how important it was for me to feel celebrated; I loved watching my daughter be genuinely loved.” Aretha noted, “Now, I mimic what I learned. I celebrate other women and encourage them to stay connected.”  She works with women that have reunification cases and helps as an administrative assistant for the outreach program. Aretha closed with this thought, “When the women are in a hard place, there is comfort that comes from someone that has lived and can acknowledge a piece of their story, their journey.”

The National Maternity Housing Coalition recently released a new White Paper on post-residential programming, Loving Beyond the Home.  It features case studies from Our Lady’s Inn and Mary’s Mantle and outlines programmatic considerations for those exploring the expansion of a formal program to follow residential services.  To download the White Paper and read more about the impact of post-residential programming, click here.

by Mary Peterson, Housing Specialist
Heartbeat International

Fall is here! With this great season, we think about football, pumpkin spice, and…..baby safety?!?! Yep, in addition to being the time of shifting weather and changing leaves, September is recognized as Baby Safety Month.

In the spirit of recognizing the role of having a safe environment, here are a few safety tips that impact a group living environment, especially with newborns:

1. Use products according to directions and the child’s age, weight, and developmental needs. That’s the big one given by the promoters of Baby Safety Month, and it should be! At maternity homes, we are pretty good at “making do” – but when it comes to things related to the well-being of our little ones, I like the motto, “when in doubt, throw it out.”

2. Be attentive to sleep safety! It’s a tough one to convince sleep-deprived mamas on and near impossible to regulate, I know! But having safe practices around sleep will give peace of mind – and hopefully, better sleep! – to everyone involved. Maybe we could share creative ways to talk about safe sleeping in our Facebook group.

3. Hand-washing. When you read about promoting health, especially in group environments, handwashing is ALWAYS mentioned as the key starting place. Whether it’s singing silly songs, giving the stink eye, or side-by-side modeling the behavior, figure out a way to create a culture of clean hands. (Note: Stink eye, while a technique used by moms everywhere, should be used only in special circumstances.) If pretty-smelling soap promotes the disinfection of germs, it’s worth the investment!

4. Being attentive. Watching the moms engage deeply with their child(ren) is one of the joys of maternity home life. Whether engaging playfully, meeting the baby’s needs, or watching for safety hazards, homes should be a source of encouragement for the mother’s active participation in the life of her child. The habit of managing distractions – especially with gadgets constantly at our fingertips – is a great life lesson!

5. Slips, trips, and falls. These everyday hazards are a common threat to the kiddos – and adults! – of the house. Pregnant women may not easily see what underfoot and falling objects can be dangerous to infants on the ground or in cribs. Be aware of cords, ice, and other hazards. Teach the adults of the house (staff, volunteers, and residents) to turn on “risk assessment” eyes as they observe the environment!

Let’s raise a pumpkin spice latte to the safety of our homes! May they be places of well-being and protection!