Florence Crittenton looks to empower young mothers in new ways

Nonprofit maternity group Florence Crittenton will host its annual Legacy of Hope Brunch May 21 to support the agency’s ongoing work as well as several coming changes, including relocating from its historic St. Margaret Street residence.

“We used to have other fundraising events in the past, and they were great and successful in helping us reach audiences and raise revenue, but those events were often not tied to our mission,” said Cheryl O’Donnell, executive director of Florence Crittenton. “We wanted an opportunity to really talk about what our mission is and to ask folks to join us in the work that we’re doing.”

Florence Crittenton is the only maternity group home in South Carolina that services minors. More than 3,000 women under 19 in South Carolina give birth each year. About 300 of those births are in the Charleston metro area, according to O’Donnell.

The organization sees the annual event, which features a short speaking program and silent auction, as a way to connect the supporters with staff and alumni, honoring the work of the agency and how it’s impacted the lives of women across the state, as well as drum up support for coming projects.

A more home-like approach

The organization is now looking to relocate from its 14,000 square-foot building into something more home-like, which will provide a better environment for the girls, ages 14 to 22, who grow up in the agency’s care.

“When you think about the younger end of the spectrum … they’re not growing up in a home, they’re growing up in an institutional building,” O’Donnell said.

Women who live in the house and give birth are allowed to keep their children in the home with them until they are 2. O’Donnell said they also thought about the young women’s children when considering the best path forward.

By selling the property, O’Donnell aims to open up more of the agency’s finances for use on developing innovative programs that serve not only the girls living in Florence Crittenton’s residence but also young women living at home, with friends or with other trusted adults.

“There was a time when congregate care was the most appropriate for young women in our care,” O’Donnell said. “They lived here preparing for their children to be put up for adoption, and that was in a time where there was a lot of societal pressures and stigma. Those aren’t there anymore, and yet we still continue to fund that model, and we’re seeing every day that’s not what they need.”

“We know that a residential home is needed because we get calls every single day requesting help,” O’Donnell said. “But can we do it in a different way, in a better way, that gives us improved outcomes, but also allows us to help young women who need more than just this building?”

For O’Donnell and Monique Green, the agency’s senior director of programs, offering a place to live, along with educational and parenting support, empowers the young women to make the transition to adulthood and prepare for their child.

According to O’Donnell, most of the young women who have come through Florence Crittenton’s residential building in the past five years have a plan to raise their child.

“A big misconception is that the young women are here preparing to have their babies adopted, and that’s not the case,” she said. “They’re coming here with the need for parenting support while they’re still kids themselves.”

Empowering women beyond four walls

In addition to the group home, he organization provides teenagers with support for their educational goals and independent living skills, as well as a network of outside partners to connect the girls with employment and higher education, Green said. And expanding offerings are on the way.

“I’m excited to be part of the new things, the changes that are coming,” she added. “[We’re formalizing] more community based programming and getting the word out as to how Florence Crittenton serves moms and their kids.”

Anyone can join in the work. From donating items for the girls and their children to volunteering at the reception desk or teaching a cooking class, there are countless opportunities to empower the young women at Florence Crittenton.

“We don’t want them to feel pitied,” O’Donnell said of the girls in the residential home. “We want them to feel empowered. We want them to feel like they can do it — and they can — but they need to have the right support systems in place to do that. And that’s what we’re here for. That’s what we’re aiming to do.”