Expectant mothers with no place to turn now have a place they can call home.
This month, the new Lewis County Maternity House opened its doors to their first resident, a 20-year-old mom-to-be who arrived with just the clothes on her back and a car that didn’t run.
The home has been in the works for almost a year. It is a project of Cooks Hill Community Church in Centralia.
Vicki Judd, one of the effort’s leaders, spoke about it Friday morning at a meeting of the Twin Cities Rotary.
Her talk was both inspiring and sobering, occasionally heartbreaking but ultimately heartening in the most powerful way.
The home has space for six new mothers to live for 18-24 months, with plenty of support, education and services to help these moms get a solid start once they head out on their own.
“The house is as cute as can be,” Judd said. “It’s a beautiful house — a warm, cozy, welcoming and safe place for our moms.”
While they don’t disclose the specific location, the house is on a corner lot with a fenced yard. It’s on bus lines within walking distance of Centralia College.
Residents are offered housing, food and birthing classes.
“This is a truly pro-life program,” Judd said. Over the two years they can live in the home before and after their baby is born, experienced mothers and support staff provide tools and skills for these new mothers to succeed after they leave.
It’s a wide-ranging and comprehensive list: classes on parenting, finance and budgeting, meal planning and preparation, and helping find state resources. These people who experienced a crisis in their lives are given help to create a crisis plan to avoid them in the future. Counseling is available, as many people have experienced trauma that led to their homelessness.
“We have no illusions that this will be a clean and easy story,” Judd said. “Homelessness is a messy business.”
The Christians who run the home are open about their faith, but it’s not required of residents. Organizers call it “faith focused, not faith forced,” with the goal of building community that will extend beyond their time living in the home.
Residents pay a nominal $250 fee each month to cover rent and food. Work and scholarships are offered to cover the cost if it’s a challenge for them.
Residents are drug-tested before entering and while living in the clean-and-sober house. There are rules and structure. Doors are locked with thumb print sensors. All guests must be background checked and visiting hours are limited.
This is one of only two transitional programs in the state for pregnant women experiencing a crisis of housing.
The other has operated for decades in Puyallup. It has had expectant mothers as young as 12 years old and as old as 40, Judd said.
Taylor McLain is the live-in program manager for the home. She and her husband live on the first floor; the three bedrooms for the residents are all upstairs.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be a bright light in dark places for those who really need it,” McLain said, noting that the first resident has been eager to learn about the Christian faith of her hosts.
Pastor Emily Faley, who is expecting her second child in two weeks, said Cooks Hill Community Church is committed to a holistic approach to support families in Lewis County. It has launched the Lewis County Diaper Bank , safe and clean soft play centers for toddlers, increased childcare enrollment , and now the Lewis County Maternity House.
“We believe that our love for Jesus as a church is best explored and shared through a practical approach to care for our community,” said Faley, who has pastored the church for four years.
Providing a home for six new mothers and their babies will change the world for them, but the need in our community and nation is obviously so much bigger.
Judd said she hopes this work will inspire other churches and groups to think about how they can use their creativity and compassion to help our neighbors in crisis. One big example and need: a place to help expectant mothers who already have children (a mission for which the Maternity House is not equipped).
The brokenness we see around us is devastating. It can make us feel hopeless. But we now have a powerful new living example of how people are coming together to help with thoughtful effectiveness.
“It just seems,” Judd said, “like what Jesus would do.”
Learn more and donate
Find out more about the Lewis County Maternity House at www.lcmaternity.org . Contact Cooks Hill Community Church’s office at 2400 Cooks Hill Rd, Centralia, office@cookshillcc.org or call 360-736-6133.
They accept donations, including:
- Bus passes/tickets
- Arts and crafts supplies
- New water bottles
- Gently used or new maternity clothing
- Cleaning and toiletry supplies
- Target/Walmart cards
- Infant toys
- Financial donations
There are also some volunteer opportunities and they welcome hand-crafted blankets and quilts. Guidelines are at www.lcmaternity.org/get-involved .
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Note: This story has been corrected to add a word inadvertently omitted from the original. The word "not" has been added back to this sentence: "The Christians who run the home are open about their faith, but it’s not required of residents."
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Brian Mittge can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
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