Friday, December 21, 2007

St. Peter Catholic Church in DeLand opens home for unwed pregnant women

The image of Mary, Mother of Jesus, is everywhere in the tidy little house at the corner of Adelle and New York avenues in DeLand.

It is fitting, for, in the Christian tradition, Mother Mary was herself unwed when the spirit of God touched her and made her pregnant with Jesus.

Now this newly renovated home will provide shelter for unwed mothers, as a ministry of St. Peter Catholic Church in DeLand.

Visitation House was unveiled Nov. 21 for a blessing and open house attended by about 40 people.

The home is licensed for occupancy of up to 10, but will likely not house more than eight expectant mothers at a time. Visitation House will serve adult women — 18 and older — who are pregnant and who have no place to go. The women must be working full time or attending school.

Jill Zimmerman, Laurel DeMarsh and Teri Houser serve on the home's board of directors and for the past year have provided much of the energy to push the project forward. At the open house, expressed their appreciation for new paint, plaster, carpet, drapes, fixtures and furniture, all donated by parishioners and other supporters.

Zimmerman said there is an interview and application process for prospective residents. Once accepted, the women women will remain at Visitation House throughout their pregnancy, and beyond, until they are self-sufficient.

Housemother Donna Poulin will work with the young women and coordinate needed services for them. Visitation House will partner with Grace House Pregnancy Resource Center to teach women prenatal and baby-care skills, and how to be self-sufficient.

A support group of St. Peter parishioners will help the young women with transportation during their pregnancies, and will help them get settled and on their own when they leave Visitation House. A visiting nurse will make sure residents get to their appointments for prenatal care at the Volusia County Health Department.

Visitation House was the vision of St. Peter's Father Tom Connery.

Connery said he long held the vision of such a shelter for women in need.

"They're interviewing the first young ladies to come to this house," he said, as he asked for God's blessing on the house and those who come there. "It will be a challenge."

Births to unwed mothers is a growing trend.

In 2006, 47 percent of the 1,830 new mothers giving birth in Volusia County were not married, according to Florida Department of Health Statistics. That percentage has been steadily increasing a point or two each year in recent years. Ten years ago, the rate was 36 percent.

In contrast, in 1920, the year of the earliest statistics available, only 3.9 percent of Florida's new mothers were unmarried. In 1970, that rate had grown to 15 percent.

St. Peter hopes to meet the need of some of those among the 47 percent of unwed mothers who need a place to stay and extra support during their pregnancies.

Dressed in vestments bearing the image of Mother Mary for the house blessing, Connery told The Beacon, "Never in my wildest imagination did I think the house would look as pristine as it does."

The house, of 1950s vintage, had become shabby through disuse in recent years.

It was formerly a convent, housing the Sisters of Mercy from Ireland, who ran St. Peter Catholic School until the early 1980s, when they returned home, Susan Remington explained. She served as the church's secretary for 11 years, and remembers the sisters well.

Later, the house served as the St. Peter preschool.

Volunteers donated materials, time and talent to convert the house into a warm and welcoming home.

Zimmerman said, "Our motto is, 'Pray about it.'" That helped a new toilet, tile and other needed items materialize "almost instantaneously," she said.

The name "Visitation House" came from the story of the visitation in the Gospel of Luke. The newly pregnant Mary went to visit her kinswoman, Elizabeth, who was six month pregnant with a child who would become known as John the Baptist. John was Jesus' cousin.

Upon Mary's arrival, John leaped for joy in Elizabeth's womb. Mary told Elizabeth of her joy in the Song of Mary, also known as the Magnificat, beginning with the words, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."

The nuns would be pleased.

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