Saving Lives, Two at A Time

His Caring Place’s Most Recent House Mom, Andrea Burgess, Reflects On Maternity Program

For over thirty years, 4KIDS’ His Caring Place (HCP) has been providing critical support to young women facing unplanned pregnancies in a residential setting. Andrea, affectionately called “Miss A” by the girls, was the full-time house parent at HCP for the last five years.

After serving as a missionary in Nicaragua for 8 years, Andrea returned to the States in February 2015 and was looking for her next ministry opportunity. “I heard about a position opening at 4KIDS so I got online and applied. After my phone interview, they asked me to come in person to interview for the house parent position at HCP," Andrea shared. When Andrea moved into HCP, she had more experience working with young children than she did with pregnant teenagers and young women.

Saving Lives, Two at A Time

Over the years, however, she was able to see how some of her past experiences allowed her to relate and build relationship with the girls.

“As a child I was exposed to violence and abuse which led to some poor decision making when I was a young adult. The saying, ‘you can’t take someone where you haven’t been,’ became so true in my role as a house parent. I was able to minister to these girls out of my deepest pain,” Andrea added.

Some of her most cherished memories at HCP include planning birthday outings, creating annual traditions, and attending the girl’s graduation ceremonies. Yet it wasn’t just the girls’ big milestones that Andrea and the HCP staff met with celebration— any small step towards their goals while in the program was accompanied with “pizzazz and praise,” as Andrea says. Oftentimes, the young women would remark that they had never been celebrated in such a way before.

In total, 36 young ladies were under Andrea’s care at HCP. She hopes that each of those young women took with them the practical skills needed to be able to complete their education, get a good job,, be financially responsible, and safely care for themselves and their babies. Most importantly, she hopes that they continue to pursue true spiritual healing and redemption through God.

As HCP continues on, we will now be extending this life-changing support to young women who are already mothers. In addition to welcoming in young ladies experiencing an unplanned, crisis pregnancy, HCP will also offer young moms a place to belong with their little ones.