WHERE TO GO

WHERE TO GO
Unwed mothers
New Life Maternity Home in Vienna is the only such facility in a 50-mile radius. Some facts:
The residential dorm has nine single rooms for unwed girls and women who need assistance with their pregnancies. Residents stay until their babies are born; the facility is not licensed to handle infants.
Located at 3653 Warren-Sharon Road, the home has served 261 females in the last 10 years, ranging from age 12 to 44.
Parenting classes, medical services, counseling and academics are available for residents.
The building used to be a rehabilitation center for alcoholics, operated until 1985 by Youngstown Rescue Mission. YRM then opened a maternity home but lost money after five years. A group area residents took over the operation.
New Life has four full-time employees and 15 part-timers. They include a director, secretary, nurse, counselor, teacher and house parents. It operates through private donations and fund raising, and salaries are determined by a board.
Residents are not allowed to leave the facility unless with a parent, staff member or "Big Sister," a volunteer from the community. Visitation is allowed a few nights a week, and residents are allowed to go home one weekend a month to reconnect with their families.
The organization is looking for "Big Sisters" to spend time with the girls, and for drivers who can take the girls to doctor's appointments. Volunteers will be screened. For more information, call (330) 856-3616.
Some of the girls are referred to New Life by the Juvenile Justice Center or Children's Services.
New Life, a nondenominational organization, touts abstinence before marriage, secondary virginity and adoption. The facility used to house Teen Straight Talk, an organization that promotes abstinence.
SOURCE: New Life Maternity Home