ALPHA House is located at 701 5th Ave N. Photos courtesy of ALPHA House
Acceptance. Life. Purpose. Hope. Accomplishment: ALPHA by Tina Stewart Brakebill COVID-19 has affected almost everyone, but not everyone has experienced its effects equally. In reality, the pandemic has “reinforced important truths: Economic instability, unsafe housing, neighborhood violence, and lack of safe and stable child care and social support can worsen already tenuous situations.” (New England Journal of Medicine, Dec. 10, 2020) The ALPHA House of Pinellas County knows that these factors are especially dangerous for expectant mothers. Despite increasingly strained resources, it offers hope and helps families in need.
ALPHA House: Transforming Lives Founded in 1979, ALPHA House’s mission is “to provide housing and supportive services to homeless pregnant women and teens, new mothers with infants, and families experiencing crisis pregnancies.” As the only residential maternity program in Pinellas County, ALPHA House offers a safe and educational environment where women and teens affected by poverty, homelessness, neighborhood violence, domestic abuse, or trafficking can transform their own lives and their children’s futures. Licensed by the Department of Children and Families, ALPHA House provides a transitional living program where women and teens can move toward the ultimate goal of selfsufficiency. Designed to provide a stable environment, rather than a short-term emergency stop-over, ALPHA House allows minors to stay until they turn 18. Adults can stay up to 24 months after the birth of a child. These extended stays allow women and girls the stability necessary to attend high school or college or pursue their GED. They also develop skills needed for self-sufficiency such as budgeting, stress management, nutrition, child-care competency, and substance-abuse prevention.
2020: “It’s been challenging.” As a formerly homeless teen mom and abuse victim, ALPHA House Executive Director Jennifer Stracick understands, better than many, the importance of a place like ALPHA House. Since 1979, more
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GREENBENCHMONTHLY.COM / FEBRUARY 2021
