Elberta, Alabama January 14, 2025 – Mary’s Shelter, a home for homeless pregnant women will break ground on January 28, 2025 on three homes for Mary’s Village, a transitional housing option that results in home ownership. Mary’s Shelter accepts pregnant women and their children who have no safe place to live into their 11 bedroom residential home. Executive Director, Kay Trattles explains, “during their fifteen month stay, our moms receive pre- and post-natal care, participate in life skill classes five days per week, attend parenting classes, earn their GED, secure full-time employment, purchase a vehicle and escrow $5,000 - $10,000. At the end of this fifteen month program, residents transition to independent living with their child(ren).” With wages in no way keeping up with the increased cost of rent in Baldwin County, many of our graduates cannot afford to live independently, and are thus put in a position to rely on either other people to live with, or on government housing assistance, thus continuing the cycle of generational poverty. This poses two distinct problems. Firstly, our resident moms do not have functional familial support, or they would not have to depend on Mary’s Shelter in the first place. More than half of our moms spent some or most of their own childhood in foster care. The incarceration rate of their family members and the fathers of their babies is high. Secondly, while government subsidized housing does exist in Baldwin County, the waiting lists are years long. Oftentimes, even the waiting lists themselves are closed. Mary’s Village will provide two year transitional housing, bridging the gap to home ownership. Village residents will pay a monthly program fee to Mary’s Shelter. This program fee will be held in escrow for the period that they stay in the home. At the end of two years each woman will have in excess of $25,000 to use as a down payment on a home. Mary’s Shelter is working with local banks and other non-profit organizations to provide credit counseling and building, budgeting skills and home maintenance. In five years, average rent in Baldwin County has nearly doubled. By providing a pathway to home ownership, Mary’s Village will provide a permanent solution to a long standing problem. Trattles says, Mary’s Shelter is committed to this long term solution, “while the Village is a transitional housing program, it is not JUST a transitional program. It is ridiculous to believe that if someone cannot afford rent in 2025, that by giving them income based transitional living, they will miraculously be able to afford rent at full rate in a one or two year time period. The MOST important portion of the Mary’s Village program is that it culminates in home ownership.” Anyone who would like more information or would like to become a part of this innovative program with a financial donation is encouraged to reach out to us at village@maryssheltergulfcoast.org.