{"id":288191,"date":"2023-04-01T09:36:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T14:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=288191"},"modified":"2023-03-29T23:42:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T04:42:21","slug":"maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Pregnancy Help News<\/a>) Many maternity homes help women after the birth of their child. A Nebraska maternity home often adds a special component: assisting generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Restoring relationships<\/h4>\n

Many women staying at Bethlehem House come from unhealthy, dysfunctional families, but some in the Aftercare program seek to restore those broken relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this past year, we noticed at least three of our alumni families have brought their mothers to a class with them,\u201d said Gina Tomes, program director and co-founder of Bethlehem House, located in Omaha.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked, \u2018Can they participate in this financial literacy class?\u2019 or \u2018Can they participate in faith formation?\u2019 It just blew me away!\u201d Tomes said. \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh my goodness, not only are we serving the pregnant mom, we’re serving the child that comes into the world, and we’re serving her extended family.\u2019 That\u2019s three generations of service because this mom courageously chose life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reconnection and healthy relationships help Bethlehem House transition its clients to community life. When clients \u201cbridge out\u201d to the Aftercare program, greater opportunities exist for those things to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have other family members that they have reconnected with and are in family therapy with and want that relationship, there’s an opportunity for real health and wellness,\u201d Tomes said, \u201cand we allow their family members to bridge into our aftercare programming and receive services [too].\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 15 apartments on campus that are brand new and are available for our alumni,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you think of addiction and recovery and bridging out of poverty, those are lifelong things that you need to pay attention to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don’t just end or become fixed in a year,\u201d said Tomes. \u201cThat continuation of care and case management, home visitation, health and wellness, continues on and increases as moms bridge out into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three-bedroom apartments are part of the Bethlehem \u201ccomplex,\u201d she added, located just a few steps from the maternity home. The building was constructed on land where a former Catholic rectory and school once stood.<\/p>\n

The needs for housing and for the Aftercare program are great, Tomes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur wait list is long,\u201d Tomes told Pregnancy Help News<\/em>, \u201cand it\u2019s only going to continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Walgreens<\/a><\/p>\n

More than just a shelter<\/h4>\n

Heartbeat International recently released a 2022 Maternity House Impact Report that showed there are 425 maternity homes in the United States, 159 of which are affiliated with Heartbeat. Thirty-eight pregnancy centers operate a maternity home, and more than 950 women are served by homes operated by Heartbeat affiliates.<\/b><\/p>\n

Sheltering for mothers-to-be is on the rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen a 16 percent increase in our maternity housing affiliates since the overturn of Roe v. Wade<\/em>,\u201d said Valerie Harkins, Maternity Housing Coalition director and Housing specialist with Heartbeat International. \u201cWe are seeing an uptick in organizations providing diversity of services, which often includes maternity housing. This looks like pregnancy centers or mobile centers expanding their services to include housing provided directly through their organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cradle of Hope<\/a>, a pregnancy center in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, is one example.<\/p>\n

Although shelter is a strong need, uplifting, life-changing programs are also critical, Harkins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaternity housing provides long-term support to mothers who choose to carry their children to term,\u201d she said. \u201c[and] Maternity home programs are built in a mother-centric environment, building upon the belief that all lives are valuable – mother and baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany homes provide job training, legal support, education resources, access to vehicles, spiritual support, personal mentorship, sometimes even parenting classes for new mothers,\u201d said Harkins.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Such is the case at Bethlehem House, within both the Aftercare program and the residential Family Life program. Classes on topics such as financial literacy, codependency, domestic violence, cooking, and sexual integrity are among the offerings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have these topics that we’re constantly rotating, and have been tweaking, to empower our moms,\u201d Tomes said.<\/p>\n

The maternity home operates a high-end thrift store as well, known as The Humble Lily<\/a>, and clients work there to learn job skills. Funds raised at the store return to Bethlehem House to continue providing shelter and programs.<\/p>\n

Partnerships with other organizations help Tomes and her team provide many of the offerings. For example, Creighton University helps with the financial literacy project, and addiction and recovery programs in Omaha assist those who need that service, many of which do, said Tomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 96% of the women who come through our doors have significant addiction in their history,\u201d she said. \u201cWe partner with an addiction and recovery center so when a mom moves in, if she does have an addiction, the first thing she does is get an assessment and then goes into in-patient or an extensive outpatient treatment. We know addiction just doesn’t go away \u2013 we have to tackle that daily \u2013 we feel our recovery program is very well equipped and effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Providing safety and love<\/h4>\n

Bethlehem House started nearly 20 years ago. The vision Tomes and her co-founders had at that time continues to be the mission and theme today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a safe place filled with love,\u201d she said. \u201cThe women that were coming to our communities and through our doors did not have that [so we wanted] to create a safe, beautiful environment filled with God’s love, filled with health and wellness and opportunities to change their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

An average stay at the 12-bedroom Bethlehem House lasts about a year, but now, with the new apartments and Aftercare program, continual positive impacts on the clients and their families go beyond those 12 months. More than 1,200 women and families have been positively impacted during the past 20 years, Tomes said.<\/p>\n

That impact will continue to grow, she said, and now is not the time to slack, but instead, to be intentional.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe that this year we have to be very intentional and continue to build momentum for maternity homes,\u201d Tomes said. \u201cWe have to create more awareness, more funding, and more opportunities. It\u2019s more important than ever that we are connecting with our moms and that we’re there for them, that we show up, and that we don’t have to experience these wait lists, and that we are just there for our moms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harkins foresees a continual increase in housing opportunities for pregnant and single moms, and therefore meeting that need.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are expectant of this trend to persist,\u00b4 she said, \u201ccreating a life-affirming network of robust organizations prepared to support women in nearly every circumstance of crisis. We view this an overwhelmingly positive trend for local communities and are dedicated to support each home succeed in their mission for their community.\u201d<\/p>\n

PHN editor’s note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.<\/em><\/p>\n

LAN editor’s note: This article was published at Pregnancy Help News and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you know that as little as $10 a month is enough to reach more than 3,000 people with the truth about abortion that no one else is telling them? Click here to start saving lives 365 days a year.<\/strong><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Pregnancy Help News) Many maternity homes help women after the birth of their child. A Nebraska maternity home often adds a special component: assisting generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare. Restoring relationships Many women staying at Bethlehem House come from unhealthy, dysfunctional families, but some in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":288291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Nebraska maternity home assists generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Nebraska maternity home assists generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-01T14:36:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-30T04:42:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-1322159897-pregnant-woman.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gayle Irwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gayle Irwin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gayle Irwin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e29bb9ddd74f627912276bb7c124415f\"},\"headline\":\"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-01T14:36:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-30T04:42:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\"},\"wordCount\":1172,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Guest Column\",\"Issues\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\",\"name\":\"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-01T14:36:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-30T04:42:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"A Nebraska maternity home assists generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e29bb9ddd74f627912276bb7c124415f\",\"name\":\"Gayle Irwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4fa99419924871d6837a14ac3df01f0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4fa99419924871d6837a14ac3df01f0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gayle Irwin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/gail-irwin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction","description":"A Nebraska maternity home assists generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction","og_description":"A Nebraska maternity home assists generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.","og_url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2023-04-01T14:36:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-30T04:42:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-1322159897-pregnant-woman.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gayle Irwin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gayle Irwin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/"},"author":{"name":"Gayle Irwin","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e29bb9ddd74f627912276bb7c124415f"},"headline":"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction","datePublished":"2023-04-01T14:36:40+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-30T04:42:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/"},"wordCount":1172,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Guest Column","Issues"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/","name":"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-04-01T14:36:40+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-30T04:42:21+00:00","description":"A Nebraska maternity home assists generations that may experience fractured relationships and addiction through a program known as Aftercare.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternity-home-restore-relationships-beat-addiction\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Maternity home helps clients restore relationships and beat addiction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e29bb9ddd74f627912276bb7c124415f","name":"Gayle Irwin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4fa99419924871d6837a14ac3df01f0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4fa99419924871d6837a14ac3df01f0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gayle Irwin"},"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/gail-irwin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/478"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288191"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288293,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288191\/revisions\/288293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}