Mary's House is a faith-based, non-denominational, non-profit, pregnancy support home in Maryland. Our purpose is to provide temporary shelter, opportunity for personal growth, and spiritual guidance for pregnant women who are homeless and need support because they have decided to give birth rather than abort.
Girls who move into Mary's House become part of a Christian family. During their stay at Mary's House, girls are exposed to the realities of being part of a family with children, which we hope will train them to eventually run a household of their own. They are provided with sound advice in dealing with the practical matters that all our girls face, such as medical care, childcare, finding work, getting assistance for food and baby supplies, transportation issues, and eventually, finding a permanent place to live. For those girls who decide that being a parent is not right for them yet, adoption resources are also available.
As a guideline, girls typically stay at Mary's House for about 1 year. Some arrive near the beginning of their term, some near the end; it doesn't much matter. We currently have room for 3 girls at a time. Each girl has a bedroom for herself and her baby/children, and there are 2 bathrooms (each with a bath+shower) that are shared by all the girls. Additionally, there is a full laundry room and dishwasher (primarily for bottles) that is shared by all the girls.
Each girl is treated just as we would treat our daughter. Our home becomes her home also. She is free to take part in all family activities, can go out with her friends periodically (with a reasonable curfew, of course), will attend church with us Sunday mornings, and is expected to help out with typical household chores. Girls not attending high school are expected to have a full-time job during their stay at Mary's House.