Организация MOMMAS отмечает 40-летнюю историю помощи беременным женщинам и их детям

Patricia Shea, associate director and founder of MOMMAS House, said she began the organization in 1986, after she had taken in a young pregnant woman in her own home. This year, the organization is celebrating 40 years of service after assisting more than 1,000 women.  “It was at that point in time I realized this is a serious consequence and this is a really big issue for young women who are pregnant and want to parent,” Shea said. Deirdre Trumpy, executive director, said that Shea’s work became the inspiration for one of Long Island’s only shelter designed for pregnant women and their children as they seek independence. Shea said there are other homeless shelters across Long Island, but that MOMMAS is different: it does not allow fathers to stay in the same housing as mothers and their children.  Trumpy said the organization provides young mothers and their children with transitional and permanent housing, as well as emergency shelter. She said that other programs include case management and social services, parenting assistance and life skills training. Trumpy said the organization is starting a new program that will help young mothers recover from addiction and substance use.  “It’ll be a place just like our other housing programs where they can live with their children, whether they’re pregnant or parenting and going through treatment,” Trumpy said.  She said that while MOMMAS House will not provide treatment for substance use, the organization will help young women with the process of getting help.  Trumpy said the organization began discussing the new program after noticing a gap in services in Nassau County. She said MOMMAS has been working with the county along with local stakeholders to get the program off the ground.  She said the program will be located in Wantagh and will begin after the organization finalizes the purchase of the house the program will be in. MOMMAS is an acronym, Shea said, and stands for Mary Our Model, Mothering Adolescent Services.  “We came from thinking of Mary, the mother of Christ,” Shea said. “The story says she was 16 years old, and she was looking for a place to have her baby and young up in a stable. The background of that story shows homelessness and a young pregnant woman.” Shea said she began her work with young women with Birthright, a program for women who are struggling with their pregnancy and need medical tests, maternity clothes and housing, which was the largest obstacle, she said.  While working there, she said that many of the young women she worked with eventually lost their housing after becoming pregnant. She said she wanted to make resources like affordable housing available while working at Birthright, but found there were none at the time.  “We spent many years looking for different agencies to take on this mission,” Shea said. “No one was interested in it.” She said that through Birthright, employees began taking young women into their own homes and would care for them throughout their pregnancies. She said that once they delivered their babies, there was often nowhere for the young mother or the child to go.  She said the young mothers most at risk of losing their housing were between the ages of 16 and their mid-20s. She said that after understanding that pattern, she was able to start servicing that demographic through her work, eventually narrowing down services to help young mothers 18 to 24.  “That came to a head when I had taken in one of the pregnant women I met,” Shea said. “We housed her with our family. Her name was Judy.” Shea said Judy had been in foster care her entire life, and had been separated from her four siblings after they had been abandoned by their mother on a street corner in Freeport. She said foster homes rarely take on large families like Judy’s, and often split siblings up.  Shea said that once Judy aged out of foster care, she became pregnant and had nowhere to go until she found a small room which she shared with nine men. Shea said that when Judy called her to let her know she had the baby, Shea brought baby clothes, formula and asked if she would live with her family. One day, Judy said she had a doctor’s appointment, Shea said, and never came back for her baby.  She said it took nearly four years to find the organization’s first house. From there, MOMMAS has expanded into Levittown for transitional housing, Glen Cove for emergency shelter and Massapequa for permanent housing. Trumpy said that women and their children can “graduate” through the program, and eventually land themselves in MOMMAS’ permanent housing. She said some families have stayed in the two-family home for years, others nearly a decade.  Trumpy said the organization makes services like these possible through its funding, and said it receives funds from a diverse range of sources, including state, federal and local county grants.   She said the organization also raises its own funds through casino nights, cruises, garage sales and raffles, but primarily during its annual fall gala. This year, the event will be held on Nov. 5 at Westbury Manor.  “These are not throwaway people,” Shea said. “These are people that can add a dimension to our lives. Don’t discard them just because they had a baby before they were able to take care of it on their own. And it’s not a dead end. It’s not the end of their lives.”