Maggie's Place

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Maggie's Place start?

Maggie's Place began with five young women who had the courage and determination to take on the founding of a non-profit, the creation of a community, and the establishment of a home. As word spread throughout the community of the project, caring and generous individuals stepped forward to provide assistance. After eighteen months of planning (including nine months of renovating an abandoned, inner-city home built 1926), Maggie's Place opened its doors to the first group of pregnant women on Mother's Day 2000.

Why "Maggie's Place"? Who is Maggie?

Maggie's Place is named for St. Mary Magdalene. It is common in the Catholic tradition to invoke the intercession of a patron saint. The founding community of Maggie's Place chose St. Mary Magdalene due to her reputation as someone who had made mistakes but then turned her life around when she met Christ, deciding to follow Him. Mary of Magdala suffered at the foot of the cross during the Crucifixion and she was the first person to whom the Resurrected Christ appeared. We celebrate her feast day on July 22.

How is Maggie's Place funded?

Maggie's Place is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, approved as a tax-exempt organization by the IRS. Our tax identification number is 86-0972675. Generous private individuals and families, as well as civic-minded clubs, social organizations, and faith communities provide financial assistance. We also receive support from several private and corporate grants. We do not receive government assistance nor are we a United Way agency, although we can accept United Way contributions if they are specifically designated for Maggie's Place. Our United Way designation code is 1305.

What are the qualifications/criteria for moms to come to Maggie's Place?

In order for a pregnant mom to come to Maggie's Place, she must be:

• over the age of 18.
• without other children in her custody.
• able to provide proof of pregnancy.
• free from recent drug and alcohol use.
• not fleeing a current domestic violence situation.
• willing to live in accordance with the established rules.
• committed to working on goals of self-improvement.

Before a pregnant woman moves into the house, she meets twice at an off-site location with two Maggie's Place staff members. The interviews give both the pregnant woman and Maggie's Place an opportunity to get to know each other and determine if Maggie's Place is the community resource best-suited to assist the woman with her unique needs.

How long can the moms and babies stay?

Guests at Maggie's Place are invited into the community at any point during their pregnancy. After the baby is born, the mom and baby can reside in the house until the baby is six months old. If the mom qualifies for the apartment program (see below), they can stay until the baby is nine months old.

What services do you provide?

• A nurturing and stable home environment and nutritious food
• Maternity and infant supplies
• Weekly therapeutic counseling
• Bus passes
• Informal mentoring from other new mothers
• Case management through an one-on-one interaction between the mom and the staff in what we term the "contact person" relationship
• A savings program in which women must save 70% of any income they receive while living at Maggie's Place.
• Weekly life skills courses on topics such as childbirth, healthy nutrition, budgeting, communication, and child rearing.
• Referrals to community agencies including parenting classes, adoption counseling, job training, and low-cost housing.
• Access to education programs including high school equivalency, community colleges, and vocational training through referrals and a scholarship program.
• Knowledge of the state programs including health insurance, day care subsidies, food stamps, child support, and cash assistance.
• Informal modeling of healthy family life including resolving conflict, facilitating decisions for the common good, upholding expectations and consequences as needed, and celebrating goals achieved.
• Opportunities for prayer and spiritual development (i.e. participation in community prayer, invitations to join the staff). Please note: while the house is rooted in the Catholic traditions, the moms come from a wide variety of religious background and participation in spiritual opportunities is by invitation, not expectation.
• Four-units of transitional housing in an adjunct apartment complex

Who provides childcare for the infants?

As a staff, we work to connect the moms with appropriate childcare resources. We do not provide regular day care on-site. While it is fairly common for day care arrangements to be made between the mothers and the staff members do provide occasional assistance, the goal is to have each mother establish a regular day care routine for her child.

What is the apartment program?

The apartments serve as a transition between living within the structured-environent of the house and attaining the eventual goal of independent living. Having more responsibilities and fewer rules, the apartment moms enjoy increased independence while still receiving support from the Maggie's Place community.

In order to transition to living in the apartments, the following criteria must have been met:

• The mother must have lived at Maggie's Place for several months.
• She must have given birth and have day care established.
• She must be working and therefore, able to make a monthly "rent" payment of $200. This money is returned as savings when they leave Maggie's Place.

What happens to the moms once they leave Maggie's Place?

Throughout their stay at Maggie's Place, the mother is asked to set and achieve her goals (i.e. furthering her education, finding a job, saving money.) Therefore, when it is time for a woman to leave Maggie's Place, she has prepared herself to move on to independent living. (See question #8.) After moving on, the moms often return to visit or volunteer. Staff members receive frequent invitations to birthday parties as the babies grow up!

Who makes up the Maggie's Place staff?

Maggie's Place staff members are full-time volunteers who receive room, board, health insurance and a stipend in exchange for their service at Maggie's Place. Since the staff members do not receive salaries, we are able to have a good-sized staff while keeping our administrative costs and operating budget to a minimum. The staff members live on-site, creating a strong community environment in which informal and formal role modeling takes place. Sharing a life in common, the moms know that the staff members love them and are always there for them!

What are the future plans of Maggie's Place?

Maggie's Place currently has an initiative underway to support the future growth and sustainability of the organization. Called Giving Birth to Dreams, the initiative provides for three primary areas:

• Creation of new communities to serve additional women
• Development of a small coordinating office function to increase organizational capacity
• Establishment of a scholarship fund to support the education costs of the mothers

Maggie's Place receives between five and ten calls per week from pregnant women in need of our services that we are unable to help to welcome into our community due to space constraints. Our heart goes out to these women. Aware of their needs, we try to be prudent and bold in looking toward the future.

Join Our Community as a... (Click links below)

• Mom
• Staff
• Volunteer