Good Shepherd Children and Family Services provides maternity shelter and transitional living, foster care, expectant parent and pregnancy support, and a full range of adoption services for children and families in need.
One program, in particular, is the Maternity Shelter & Transitional Living (MSTL) program, which provides a safe, loving, and therapeutic home for pregnant and parenting mothers (ages 12–21) and their children who are facing homelessness. The program also supports those in foster care and children whose behavioral needs have prevented them from living successfully in a family setting.
The Tilles Foundation granted Good Shepherd $300,000 to be paid out in three equal installments over three years in support of the MSTL program. Thanks to this support, during the first grant year, the MSTL program was able to provide safe shelter, healthy food, 24-hour supervision, and a broad array of services for 36 at-risk young mothers and their babies, aimed at ensuring healthy delivery, healthy parenting, and successful independence.
Services provided to at-risk youth mothers and their babies through the MSTL program include case management, individual and group therapy, parenting and life skills training, nursing and psychiatric care, individual coaching, education advocacy, tutoring, and vocational support.
In addition, Good Shepherd’s registered nurses support mothers in the program along every step of their medical journey. Clients receive one-on-one coaching and education as well as transportation to all medical appointments while enrolled in the program. Through a partnership with Mercy Clinic Family Medicine, mothers have access to pre and perinatal care. The MSTL program welcomed two babies during the grant year and both babies were within the healthy weight range.
At its core, Good Shepherd’s MSTL program is a child abuse and neglect prevention program. All clients who seek out assistance have at minimum one social factor that places their family at risk of abuse or neglect. Annually, Good Shepherd sets a goal that 95% of parents will not have a substantiated abuse or neglect hotline call that results in removing a child. During the grant year, Good Shepherd surpassed this goal at 100%.
The average length of stay for a client is typically between six to nine months. From the moment of intake, Good Shepherd’s clients are working with the team to plan a safe and sustainable discharge plan. With support from the Tilles Foundation, 83% of mothers were discharged to a transitional living program, an independent program, or a stable family member’s home during the grant year—exceeding Good Shepherd’s annual goal of 75%.
For more about Good Shepherd Children & Family Services, visit www.goodshepherdstl.org