Paul Stefan foundation focuses on empowering and supporting pregnant women
Paul Stefan foundation co-founder Randy James, and previous residents of the Paul Stefan home Danielle Nicholson and Brooke Cummings, describe the impact pro-life services has had on pregnant women across the country.
Maternity homes across the country have helped hundreds of women overcome drug addiction, criminal histories, homelessness, abuse and trauma to become independent and successful mothers.
Many women come to the shelters pregnant without the financial resources, education or family support that they need to start a family, but with help and advocacy of the maternity shelters, they are able to have their baby.
Kathleen Wilson, the founder and director of Mary's Shelter, a maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said her primary goal is to help women who are pregnant and in crisis escape the cycle of homelessness, drug addiction, crime and abusive relationships.
"What we do here is give women the opportunity to live with us for three years, sometimes more … so that all of their goals can become a viable reality" and they can ultimately "move on and live independently in a safe and independent way."
One mother, Francesca Perrotta, said she owes her life to Bethlehem House in Omaha, Nebraska because she said they gave her the courage to have her child. She said she was convinced she couldn't be a mother after she had had her four children taken from her by the state, which led her down a path of addiction and illegality.
Francesca with her son. (Courtesy of Francesca)
"I just really had a tough time coping with the fact that I had lost my children," she told Fox News Digital. "I had told myself I would die by the needle and die by drugs. That was my goal in life, once you lost your children, that's it, you don't want to go on anymore."
Francesca said she was living on the streets and committing crimes and with two warrants out for her arrest, she turned herself in and spent almost a year in jail, where she got sober. Almost immediately after she got out of jail, she found out she was pregnant and while she saw it as her second chance at being a mother, she was afraid she would lose her child again.
"My first thought when I was pregnant was: 'I need to get an abortion. They're not going to let me keep my child. I've already had four of the children taken for me. Like, that's impossible,'" she said.
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She said she had heard about maternity homes like Bethlehem House before, but said she couldn't believe that anyone would have faith in her having another child. But, when Francesca showed up at Bethlehem House she said staff just reassured her over and over again that she could do it
"They didn't judge me," she said. "They didn't care that I lost kids before. They didn't care that I was drug addicted and homeless and had no family, like that didn't matter. They became my family."
When she had her baby, Francesca said Bethlehem House did everything possible to make sure she didn't lose her child.
"I remember when I had him, CPS showed up at the hospital and I was like, 'Oh, my God, they're going to take my kid, they're going to take my kid right away,'" she said. "They [Bethlehem House] had a whole legal team for me."
Because of the help of Bethlehem House, Francesca is now a thriving single mother, who owns a house and a car and runs a business, but she claims that without their help, she wouldn't have her child today.
"I would not be a mother right now and succeeding as a single mother, let alone, succeeding in life," she said. "I know for a fact I wouldn't have my child because my very first thought was to get rid of him and it hurts me to think about, but that's reality."
Francesca currently works as a manager at a mechanic shop, but said she wants to work in a maternity home and help others who face similar challenges she did.
"When nobody else had faith in me as a mother, because I have lost children before, they did," she said. "I want to be the next generation's hope because I feel like that's what people need right now."
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Shawnte Mallory is the mother of five children and when she showed up at Mary's Shelter in Fredericksburg, Virginia, she didn't have a job or a car and was about to be evicted. When she was about to have her third child, the baby's father, who was involved and excited at first, ultimately asked her to have an abortion.
"I really didn't know what to do," she told Fox News Digital. "I had just lost my job, just losing everything, I was falling behind on rent, just lost my vehicle, so at the time, having an abortion sounded like a good idea. But still, in the back of my mind, I didn't want to have an abortion."
She ultimately ended up a Mary's Shelter, where she gave birth to her third child.
Shawnte now works for Pathways to Housing, which helps place the homeless in affordable housing, but she said Mary's Shelter is different from any shelter she has been to or stayed at during the difficult times in her life.
Shawnte with her daughter, Bella, who she was pregnant with at Mary's Shelter. (Courtesy of Shawnte)
"Mary's Shelter doesn't feel like a shelter, it feels like a home," she said.
"If there wasn't Mary's shelter, I probably would have gone through with trying to get the abortion, even though I didn't want it," she said. "But I didn't want to bring a child into the world, not know how to provide, how to be able to nurture, give my support and get back on my feet. I wouldn't be where I am today if it for Mary's Shelter to be honest."
Danielle Nicholson is now an independent mother working as a social worker in Virginia, but she said she wouldn't be where she is today without the help of the Paul Stefan Foundation (PSF), where she sought help when she found out she was pregnant at 20-years-old.
"I was involved in a lot of poor decision-making, partying all the time, irresponsible and defiant of the morals that were instilled in me through a lifetime in church," she said. "I was on a detrimental path to destruction when I found out I was pregnant. The moment I knew I was expecting, I decided ‘No more’ and made every effort to build myself as a dignified and successful woman and mother."
She described her unexpected pregnancy as the biggest shock of her life and when she moved into PSF, she said she was skeptical of every aspect of her life, living in a constant state of fear, shame, guilt and weariness.
"The entire experience and process of moving out of my mother’s home and into a home with strangers surprised me in a way that made me feel so alone and unwanted," she said. "It was hard."
"Once I accepted my current position and situation, I put my feet to the ground and began working on myself and my career goals," she said.
She said her life would have been "catastrophic" without PSF and the resources, support and encouragement it provided.
(Courtesy of Danielle)
"I’m so grateful for the shelter, love, and opportunities that we’re selflessly given to me during the almost 5 years I lived at the Paul Stefan Foundation," she said.
"I wouldn’t be able to love and raise my now 10-year-old daughter without Evelyn [PSF co-founder] showing me how to do that, by loving me … in the darkest, scariest time of my life," she said.
Wilson said all moms, even those who might not be in the position where they need to go to a maternity home, are brave for "saying yes to motherhood."
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"Especially for the women that we take in in situations like Mary's Shelter, they're so brave to say yes," she said. "They've been through so much and yet they've got that mom's heart and they really love their children."
"To those ladies out there that are in any way in a situation of needing help or assistance, call me, call Mary's Shelter if you need to," she added. "I will lead you to where you need to be, but don't give up your dream of motherhood because you feel like you're unworthy in any way."
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