Our Mothers Home is celebrating 25 years in Southwest Florida. Its goal: to help pregnant teenagers and teen mothers and their children. And like many non-profits, this organization depends on determination, spirit, money from the community, and just plain love for those in need.

For a quarter century, mothers like 17-year old Kai Wilson, and children like her daughter Melody, have found safety at our Mothers Home in Fort Myers.

"If I wasn't here, I'd probably be on the streets," Wilson said as she held one-year-old Melody.

Wilson said she ran away from her family home two years ago and got pregnant. She said now, as a minor, a child herself, learning to be a parent to another child, is like nothing else.

"It's hard, funny, scarry.  Really scary," Wilson said. "You just keep going  for them." 

Right now Our Mothers Home is located in a converted office building. The present location opened a little less than a year ago.

Kai Wilson and six other moms under 18, have rooms on the main floor. Babies are with the mothers, who are allowed to decorate rooms as they want. Three mothers over 18, and their children, live upstairs.

Staff members are on duty around the clock to help moms learn to be good parents, and to deal with any medical or other emergencies that might arise.

Angela Rackley-Meadows is the executive director. 

"I was a teen mom, first at 18 years old," she said. "And I know that having support, love and guidance made all the difference for me to be successful.   And so that is why I do, what I do." 

Our Mothers Home has a dining area and full kitchen for family-style dinners. Each mom has to prepare dinner once every 10 days.

There's a Dress for Success boutique, stocked with donated clothes and shoes. Moms can choose the outfits they need to look good for school or work. And the Stork Room supplies clothes and toys for the children.

The home has a waiting list, and almost never lacks moms in need. The teen pregnancy rate remains high, and Rackley-Meadows says trafficking of girls is a major problem.

"We have had a young person who had been trafficked for at least three or four years," she said. "By the time we got her, she was only 13 and had not been in school for three years.  And then, it just happened to be a situation where she had a baby.  So each situation is different but they're all very traumatic."

Rackley-Meadows added that in her experience in this area, some girls are trafficked for sex, others for work.

She said that the state Department of Children and Families, local law enforcement, and people in the community usually refer pregnant teens and moms and their babies to Our Mothers Home.

Rackley-Meadows said the home provides education on how to avoid unintended pregnancies.

"When I talk to young people and we're talking about family planning, it's like a lot of the time they'll say, well, Miss Angela, I didn't plan on having a baby," she said. "I say, yeah, but you didn't plan on not having a baby! I want to talk about how we don't get here again. And that's when the conversation talks about reproductive health care."
 
Most of the home's moms attend Lee public schools' Young Parent Education classes at a location in Fort Myers. Their babies stay in day care on the campus of the parent education program.

Some other home residents work jobs. Nineteen-year-old Nicolasa Cardona said she works at a restaurant and her daughter Maria attends pre-kindergarten.

"She's happy.  And she's going to school and everything," Cardona said. "I'm working to save my money.  When I'm 21, I leave to find a new place to go."  

"What you see is someone who comes in maybe broken, or maybe has been abused,  or dealing with trauma," Rackley-Meadows said. "And then somebody who leaves with a sense of self-worth, accomplishment, and just hope that they can do and be anything."  

Our Mothers Home gets money from state government and donors. It's holding a gala on Thursday, January 15, to celebrate 25 years. The event will be held at the Burroughs Home and Gardens in Fort Myers. You can find details at this link:
https://ourmothershome.org/

Kai Wilson said she plans to graduate high school next spring and hopes to get training or go to college to be a nurse. She said she wants to build a solid future.

"This place really makes you independent. I just hope I can do good for her," Wilson said of Melody. "I hope she gets everything she wants and needs."

Mike Walcher is a reporter at WGCU News. He also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.