Our Mother’s Home of Southwest Florida (OMH), a nonprofit serving teen mothers ages 11 to 18 and their children, has received a $25,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. These funds will go to help the future OMH home in Fort Myers and assist with the remaining renovations needed for the new building, which will include transitional living for ages 18 to 22.
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has several missions, such as helping to address barriers to affordable housing. Through this grant, the foundation aims to improve the lives of young families and empower them to succeed. The funding will help OMH serve more young mothers and provide much-needed community resources and services through the improvements made to the newly purchased building.
“This charitable grant will help OMH transform the lives of our young mothers and their babies while also helping expand our services outside of our residential program,” said Alicia Miller, executive director of Our Mother’s Home. “OMH is incredibly thankful for Bank of America’s generous partnership, and we are looking forward to providing a safe, nurturing home for more young mothers and their babies, as well as offering additional resources and education to the broader community.”
The two-story building was purchased in 2022, though it was not used for five years prior, and requires extensive renovations to be suitable for mothers and their children. The first floor will include housing for teen mothers and administrative offices and provide new services, such as an educational center, play area and community pantry sponsored by Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson and his wife, Krista. The upstairs will feature separate housing for a new transitional living program dedicated to young mothers who have aged out of foster care.
Once the young women at OMH turn 18, they legally can no longer share living space with the younger residents. This second floor of the new building will provide mothers with necessary resources and independence, granting them an opportunity to break the cycle of generational poverty and care for themselves and their babies.
As part of its ongoing capital campaign, OMH continues to seek donors and business partners to underwrite the remaining renovations of additional residential spaces, administrative offices and community programming rooms that will make up its future location. The new OMH home will enable the organization to offer a resource pantry, which will provide child care supplies to young parents in need, as well as a community education center that will offer free educational sessions on parenting, budgeting, birth control, relationship therapy, tutoring and more. There will also be a children’s learning area so mothers can focus on their educational goals, while their children receive comprehensive care in a secure, supportive environment.
To learn more about OMH and its mission, visit OurMothersHome.org.
About Our Mother’s Home of Southwest Florida
Our Mother’s Home was founded in 2000 by Helen Coppage, a foster parent who saw the need for a dedicated residential program to allow teenage mothers and their babies to remain together as mother and child. The organization provides a safe environment and transition for teen mothers ages 11 to 18 and their children from foster care and human trafficking to stable, happy, and productive lives by providing a nurturing home, education and parenting support, along with physical, mental and spiritual care. Since its launch, more than 400 mothers and children have benefited from Our Mother’s Home Mentored Living Program, successfully preserving families, transitioning young mothers to self-sufficiency, and saving the lives of children by avoiding their re-entry into foster care. This unique home is the only one of its kind in Southwest Florida. For more information, call 239-267-4663 or visit OurMothersHome.org.