The executive director of Cradle of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center had dreamt for several years of creating “a mother’s home,” a place of safety and sanctuary for homeless pregnant women, and now that vision appears to be coming true.
“I’d been thinking in my mind, ‘When I see X number of clients who are homeless, that's when we'll start our mother’s home,” Peggy Knudsen said.
A nudge within her heart and mind began to transpire early last year, she said, and after speaking to her board of directors, they, too, felt an urgency. And as Cradle of Hope began experiencing an increase in client homelessness, they organization began casting the vision in their Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, community for a maternity home.
Seeing a need
“Half of our clientele are couch surfing,” Knudsen said, referring to chronic crashing wherever space is available, “and what makes me sad is they earn mommy money for a baby bed that they have no place to bring.”
Knudsen said she’s seen a rise in the number of pregnant clients who also live out of their cars.
“I always said if somebody came to me and they were living out of their car with their baby, I'd be like, ‘Okay, I have a place for you,’ and we would, but it just didn't work,” said Knudsen. “But this is what I was seeing – people couch jumping, going from basement to basement, living with guys that may or may not be the baby's father, and we were seeing it again and again.”
Last year, she decided the time had come for the pregnancy help organization to create a maternity home.
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“In January (2022), I said at our board meeting, ‘We've got to do it, we've got to do it this year, it's an urgency in my heart,’” she recalled.
“I don't know what's changed,” Knudsen continued, “and we don't have countless pregnant mamas living under a bridge, but I'm telling you, when half of our clientele are couch surfing - we have a situation.”
Her board’s response was, “Okay - what do we need to do?’”
Knudsen ordered the maternity housing manual produced by Heartbeat International, and she began reading it regularly. She also floated the idea during Cradle of Hope’s annual spring gala, and doors of possibilities began to open. Knudsen looked at many homes and properties, and in August, she thought a location had been discovered. However, that, and other potential places, did not work out.
Pregnancy centers that also provide maternity housing do exist. For example, the center in Rolla, Mo., also offers sheltering through its home called Bridges.
This is an option and opportunity for pregnancy centers, according to Valerie Harkins, director, Maternity Housing Coalition.
“Combining both services under one organizational umbrella provides an opportunity for clients to receive access to services, such as housing, in an expedited manner,” she said. “Additionally, this provides residents with opportunities to seamlessly remain engaged with ongoing support services provided through the pregnancy center.”
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Depending upon the mission of the organization, incorporating a maternity home can be an asset for a pregnancy center.
“If their mission statement encompasses serving women in both capacities then this is certainly an option worth strategically exploring,” Harkins said. “However, some organizations exist with the purpose of specializing in one specific service area, such as medical or housing. In this case, strengthened networking with other maternity homes would be most beneficial to the center.”
There are approximately 450 maternity homes in the United States, she added.
Cradle of Hope may add to that number later this year.
Visionary journey
Cradle of Hope opened nearly 15 years ago and has expanded into other communities in the area.
“I just saw the need where there were at that time not many resources out there for them (clients) to go to, and because I was a pastor's wife, I was having women coming to me, so our church bought the building next to the church,” Knudsen said. “I thought this would be a great place for us to start this pregnancy center that I've been talking about for years.”
Cradle of Hope offers hope to women not only in Mount Pleasant, but also in Burlington, Fort Madison, and Fairfield, spanning a distance of 30 to 40 miles in southeastern Iowa.
“About eight years ago, we started really getting a reputation in the community for what we did,” Knudsen said. “People finally knew we were here and started talking to people, and we started growing our client base.”
Around 10 years ago, Cradle of Hope became a medical clinic, providing ultrasounds, she added.
“We had about seven clients that totally went through our program,” Knudsen said. “Three of the seven were teenage moms, and two of the seven were abortion-minded. They came, got an ultrasound, and changed their mind (about abortion).”
“We have grown incredibly to where we are full every day with clients, and we have ultrasounds regularly,” she said.
Throughout the years and along the journey, offering a maternity home has been on the radar.
“The whole entire time of these 15 years. a mother's home has always been in the DNA of Cradle of Hope,” Knudsen said. “I would talk about it often; I would share it in our vision of what the future might be.”
After the potential locations fell through in 2022, a new opportunity arose in early January 2023. A home in Fairfield, located about 30 miles from Mount Pleasant where the main location is found, is under negotiation.
Knudsen said she is thankful for the support she has received from her board and Cradle of Hope donors.
“The support that I’ve received and the encouragement and the people that surrounded the vision has been very touching,” she said. “It’s not only encouraging, but it’s kind of daunting, like, ‘Okay, so people really see that this is a need and actually go along with this vision because this is in our hearts.’”
Knudsen foresees helping women not only choose life for their babies, but also choosing a better life for themselves.
“The first phase will be mother's home and the second phase will be a survivor's home for sex trafficked women because we've had some clients that have been trafficked,” Knudsen said. “We have spent 15 years developing a culture of life, but now we need to develop a culture of abundant life. They need a new way of living and a new way of thinking.”
Programs, mentoring, and discipling will be part of this new venture in addition to providing shelter.
“I want them to be a part of our program here at Cradle of Hope,” Knudsen said, “and I want this to be a home for them, not just a sheltering facility.”
The prospective house does not need any work before they would take possession, she said, so it is possible.
“If all goes through,” Knudsen added, “I hope to open the mother’s home this spring.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
