MILWAUKEE — New Beginnings - A Home for Mothers provides single mothers who don’t have a safe place to live or anyone to help with the support they need.
The Christian-based nonprofit organization has a small apartment building in Milwaukee that can house four mothers and their babies. They can stay for up to five years, as long as the women remain celibate and attend school.
Erika Steward was connected to the organization when she was pregnant with her son, Navy.
“I wasn’t in the best situation when I was pregnant, and I was pretty depressed,” she said. “I didn’t want to admit it.”
The women get help with education, transportation, food and parenting.
“Anything that you could possibly think of, they have been here for,” said Steward. “I’ve met some amazing people here. My baby has a best friend in life. The staff has become family to us.”
Brittany Jahns with New Beginnings - A Home for Mothers said the program prides itself on providing structure and spiritual guidance.
“The goal of New Beginnings is we want a mother to leave our program being a loving, self-sufficient, Christian parent,” she said. “If that mother completes her education or gets a job, she can leave us at any time.”
Jahns said moms in the program get connected to jobs, and training on how to manage money.
“We open up a savings account for that mother, so that every time they get a paycheck, that money goes directly into a savings account in their name,” said Jahns.
Steward and her son Navy have lived at New Beginnings for four years now. Steward is working and taking college classes.
“I can’t begin to even explain all the things that have changed since I’ve been here,” she said. “I’m studying web design and social media that will turn into a degree in political science and web design.”
Stewart’s next step is finding a new place for her and her son, Navy, to live. She said getting to this point would not have been possible without the supportive home she and her son first got at New Beginnings.
New Beginnings also has a Baby Boutique in the apartment building. It offers free baby clothes, diapers and supplies. It’s for moms and babies who currently live there, and those who used to. It’s also open to community members in need.
Currently, there is a waiting list of women requesting help from New Beginnings. The nonprofit would like to build a bigger housing space to serve more. The organization relies on community donations.