“You’re pregnant...” echoed in Mary’s head, pounding almost as loud and her heart beat in her ears. She felt her hands go numb… She started to sweat… She had wondered if it could be true; but, she really didn’t believe it, until now. “What am I supposed to do now?” she worried. Her mother’s voice rang in her memory, “Don’t you go out and get yourself into trouble with that boy. We can’t afford to feed another mouth around here. Don’t come back here and expect me to take care of your mistakes!” “If only she were joking,” Mary thought to herself. Mary knew she wasn’t joking though and she knew she would have to find a way to take care of herself, but how?

Words that provide joy to so many and that others still wait longingly to hear, struck fear into the hearts of hundreds of youth in Florida last year. Frequently, unwanted pregnancy results in young women leaving or being ejected from their family home due to a lack of commitment from their parents to support them. Because of this, frequently these youth face heart-wrenching and economically challenging decisions, such as parenting vs. adoption, alone. Some bounce from place to place with whoever will let them in for a while. They often live in substandard conditions, putting their health and the lives of their unborn children at risk. Unfortunately, Bay and surrounding counties has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the State of Florida for this and other reasons.

In June 2008, Anchorage will open Hannah’s House, a safe haven to help young women, 16-21 years of age to face the challenges of caring for themselves and their unborn child. The program is named after the biblical example of Hannah, who prayed for her child and loved him so much that she dedicated him to God before he was ever born. Hannah was a fitting model of the sacrificial love of a mother to her unborn child and of the preciousness and purpose of each of these new lives.

At Hannah’s House each youth will be receive counsel and assistance as they make critical decisions re: adoption vs. parenting, preparing for single parenthood or marriage, completing their basic education, and employment after the baby is born. Through community partnerships, Anchorage will also provide access to ob/gyn care, pediatric care, parent training, life skills training, employability training and employment assistance, basic education, counseling and child care.

Working from a philosophy of positive youth development, Hannah’s House works with youth to make positive changes in their lives and to develop attributes that will result in future success in their relationships and goals.

The goals of the program are to ensure that:

• each young woman has access to food, clothing, medical care and safe shelter during this critical time in her life
• both mother and unborn child receive the pre-natal care that they need
• each mother obtains parenting skills that result in positive child development and eliminates abuse or neglect
• each baby has appropriate child care
• each young woman, parenting or adopting, develops the skills and abilities necessary to live independently
• each mother and baby receives a web of support to assist them in successful transition to independence with appropriate follow up

If you would like additional information about the program, please contact Lindsey Berling

We have been blessed by an outpouring of community involvement, including landscaping and updating of the facilities, gifts of furniture and plans for volunteer mentoring and tutoring for our youth. But, we still have room for you to get involved.

If you would like to volunteer or to be considered for employment, please use these links or see the What You Can Do page.

If you’d like to know about the Hannah’s House current needs, see our Needs List.

Find out how you can financially support the work of the Hannah’s House, by becoming an Anchor for today’s children.