Ruth Harbor Ministries offers Christ-centered homes and programs for young moms who decide to continue their unplanned pregnancies. Ruth Harbor opened its doors and welcomed its first maternity residents at the Des Moines home in 2001. While at Ruth Harbor women receive counseling, education support, life-skills training, access to quality health care, spiritual guidance, parenting training, and/or adoption assistance at no charge.
Staff members come alongside each resident to design a Care Plan tailored specifically to reach personal goals of growth, independence, safety, and life skills.
Our residents live much like a family – cooking, cleaning, and caring for one another according to their physical abilities. Young moms who come to Ruth Harbor receive support in decision-making and life skills, and are encouraged to continue their education. Our ultimate goal is for our young moms to experience positive life change and ensure their children are well cared for.
All young moms receive ongoing professional counseling at Ruth Harbor. All of the women who enter are given ongoing parenting training and instruction. Young moms are counseled through the decision of whether to parent or place their unborn children for adoption, but it is solely their decision. Residents who decide to parent their babies will receive extensive parenting classes and life skills training to ensure those babies are well cared for after they’re born. Residents who choose adoption will be well-informed of their options and assisted through the process, in addition to receiving life skills training and all of the other services available at Ruth Harbor.
While the focus of Ruth Harbor’s ministry is to support the young moms and children we serve, we believe everyone thrives when the entire family is healthy. Therefore, our counseling and parenting training support is offered to the families and birth fathers of our residents at no charge, provided those relationships are healthy for our residents to continue to engage in.