An organization with three decades of service in Cape Coral continues to spread its wings and evolve.<\/p>\n
Florida Executive Director for Guiding Grace Family Support Network Meghan DeLuca said February will mark 30 years in the Cape with a new nuance \u2014 an affiliation with another non-profit.<\/p>\n
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Guiding Grace Family Support Network\u00a0acquired Thrive SWFL last year and expanded its aid to women experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, single dads and mothers, foster parents, caregivers, grandparents raising grandchildren, and families at every stage. DeLuca said circumstances can lead children to another guardian or caregiver.<\/p>\n
Its programs began locally as a center for moms-to-be, a focus that will continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t feel our acquisition should end that, so to speak. There are pioneers and there are settlers. We were founded by a woman with incredible vision and heart for the city of Cape Coral and beyond,\u201d DeLuca said. \u201cWe have had women come from all over the country. That heartbeat hasn\u2019t changed. The foundation of the mission in which we were founded has not changed. It has expended and we are building upon it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Some history<\/p>\n
The effort began when Lifeline Family Center opened in Cape Coral in 1996 to offer a positive alternative for a mom and a child with hope for the future.<\/p>\n
DeLuca became involved in Lifeline Family Center in 2018 as a board member.<\/p>\n
Her involvement came from her own experience. <\/p>\n
At 16 she discovered she was pregnant. Scared, she went to a pregnancy resource center. <\/p>\n
She hated the experience.<\/p>\n
She also is a \u201cchosen child, an adoptee.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to do something with that life that was meaningful,\u201d she said. \u201cI kept my son. He is 30 years old today. He had a baby girl in July, the day after my birthday, he and his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
The baby is her third grandchild.<\/p>\n
\u201cI searched for my face for my whole life. God has given me that in my three grandchildren \u2014 they have a strong resemblance in me. I found my face in all three of them,\u201d DeLuca said. <\/p>\n
Her passion to help others stems from that as a lot of children are conceived in pain and fear that are helped through the organization. \u00a0She encourages those mothers to look in the eyes of that child and find their face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat child is worth fighting for and so are they. That is all it takes and it turns the whole tide \u2014 to believe they have value and worth \u2014 they are unstoppable,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
To be effective long-term, programs must address the double need, mother and child, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is this drumbeat of \u2018save the baby, save the baby.\u2019 To save the baby, we have to equip mom. Not save her, that is on her \u2013 she needs to feel equipped and empowered for the next steps,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The goal was to give mothers an opportunity to be self-supporting and a contributing member of society, to give clients a visualization for herself of what stability looks like and how to obtain that. <\/p>\n
Lifeline Family Center walked alongside them toward that goal of self sufficiency for mother and child.<\/p>\n
The center had a two-bedroom residential duplex. It was outgrown before it even opened.<\/p>\n
The founder believed the community was willing to invest into something bigger, which took shape at the Southeast 5th\u00a0Avenue property in 2006.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was built entirely on donations. There is no mortgage. When she built it, all different people within the community had hands in it,\u201d DeLuca said. \u201cIt\u2019s still in our community today. We retain that pride because this building is continuing in its use now beyond pregnant women, and single moms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stage 2<\/p>\n
In 2021, Lifeline Family Center pivoted to Thrive SWFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a big moment,\u201d DeLuca said, saying it was hard for women to live in a center. \u201cAs donors and supporters, we are the lifeline. Nobody wants to feel like they live at the end of the rope. It is a lifeline for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The residential program had its challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s OK to come to a center to receive services. No one wants to live in a center. We knew we were limited by the four walls because we couldn\u2019t help all the people who were desperately seeking help,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a win for our residents. A win for us, so we could serve well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residential programs include exit planning which includes a housing solution for the mom going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is not to institutionalize them,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
During COVID, the organization took a pregnancy pause and revamped all of its programming to become modernized, which removed the two-year program requirement. She said some women need eight months of help instead of 24.<\/p>\n
There was one woman who wanted to be a paramedic, something she never thought in a million years she could accomplish. She ended up graduating from the Public Service Academy and was able to relocate to Connecticut after being on property for only eight months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is when we decided fluidity was critical,\u201d DeLuca said. \u201cThey are coming in older and have acquired considerable debt. Now they are here for two years plus and that is not healthy either.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the availability of low income problematic, capacity was stuck \u2014 no new clients could be served. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe programs we were providing had tremendous value, but we stopped becoming valuable,\u201d DeLuca said. \u201cWe were seeing that if we have no next step for them, we can no longer provide a service because we can\u2019t transition new moms in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thrive SWFL opened four apartments in the back of its property that are designed to be transitional housing with a sliding monthly rent scale for women and children only. The transitional housing is offered for up to two years, so the mom can begin to save to move into a more permanent residence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are paying anywhere from $500 to $1,000 for a two-bedroom, one bath apartment. It keeps it low, so they can funnel the rest of the dollars into savings. My goal for them would be to buy. With our housing navigation, we can work with them and Lee County, and different programs, and help them get connected to allow them to take the next step,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
When the organization was re-branded it offered an \u201celement of fun,\u201d as well as a more relaxed community. She said it got people more excited about what they do and it resonated with the residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a mindset. I live at Thrive. I am going to flourish and grow \u2014 and they did,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
Although the residential center component has been abandoned, the apartment living will continue as mothers are thriving. She said their parenting skills are improving, resulting in positive changes in the children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have the pressure of having other people they don\u2019t know pile upon them. It is beautiful to see. I am proud of that,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
A shift was still needed. One that took a great deal of thought, and praying, as the acquisition was a huge decision. \u2014 how to move on without shuttering the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past matters. The history matters and everything that was built here,\u201d DeLuca said. \u201cIt is now our responsibility to step up and carry the mantel and to build on what was begun. To breathe new life into it- new families and more families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guiding Grace Family Support Network\u00a0quickly began reconfiguring and adding to Thrive SWFL\u2019s programs after last year\u2019s acquisition,<\/p>\n
\u201cThis expansion gives us the ability to serve nonresidential and come alongside them. There is not a lot of support for them to do that,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
Programs include personalized case management, housing navigation, parenting classes from newborn care to teen years, counseling and recovery support groups, financial education, employment and career development support, and nutrition education.<\/p>\n
The acquisition is such a beautiful thing because it has taken them to the next level and has enabled them to help many more, DeLuca said. <\/p>\n
Often times the calls that come in are for obtaining long-term housing, employability, outfits to wear for interviews, and helping with resume writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what we are doing now, honing in on that support,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a totally different mindset with similar programming. They are coming here and leaving here with the tools and going back to their residence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving toward the future<\/p>\n
The shift to help more than moms and their children came after a flight to Omaha to talk to the founder and executive director of Guiding Grace Family Support Network. More than 40 people were in that room \u2014 clients, their family and staff. Stories were shared, one from a young man who had barely spoken a word.<\/p>\n
DeLuca said there was not a dry eye in the room as he pulled out three sheets of paper from his back pocket \u2013 his life story that involved him and his young daughter. She said he shared that he wanted to be better dad, so he fled where he was living and found Guiding Grace. The organization helped him find a job, housing and he is now working to pay fees to get his license back.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so raw and so real. He was beaming. It was brave. I realized that if he came through our door, we wouldn\u2019t have helped him. We would have referred him. We did not have programming to help him,\u201d DeLuca said, adding that they had to \u201cDo this. There is more that can be done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Guiding Grace in Cape Coral, they can help more individuals, she said.<\/p>\n
The grand reopening of Guiding Grace Family Support Network will take place on Feb. 12, a few days before the actual founding date of Lifeline Family Center. The celebration also will include the launch of the first Giving Days, which DeLuca said is one of the most special things about Guiding Grace.<\/p>\n
The Giving Days will be held on the second Thursday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. These days are open to any family in the community that needs a little extra support. Packages will be put together to meet their needs with items such as diapers, wipes, trash bags, laundry pods, children\u2019s toys and clothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to meet the needs that they have \u2014 that is possible through the generosity of our community,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n
The idea is once an individual attends the Giving Days, they will then be invited to learn more about the ongoing programs Guiding Grace offers.<\/p>\n
DeLuca said it would be fantastic to have sponsors for Giving Days to offer such things as bagels and coffee.<\/p>\n
Guiding Grace also has some strategic collaborations in the works, which should be signed, sealed and delivered in the next few months \u2013 a huge help to the community. She said with mental health lacking in the city and Lee County, some donors are fighting for help in the mental health component, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be the center for people to go to for whatever it is they need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Guiding Grace Family Support Network is at 907 SE 5th\u00a0Ave. For more information visit\u00a0guidinggracenetwork.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n