Jessica Freyne knows what it’s like to be young, pregnant and scared.
At 18, she became pregnant with her son. For the first 10 years of his life, she was a single mother.
Freyne loves her son, now 28, and appreciates the help she had along the way.
“I think things could have been a lot different in my earlier years had I had the support,” Freyne said. “That's what drives me, and I think that's what led me to this type of work.”
She started the nonprofit Providence Pregnancy Center in 2022 to provide more comprehensive care to pregnant women and single mothers. Freyne operates the center with the help of a social worker and more than 20 volunteers.
Freyne always envisioned a maternity home as part of her original plan. Now, it’s a reality - right next door to the former Bomberger-Lesko Funeral Home.
Casa de Maria
Providence Pregnancy Center raised enough money during an October fundraiser to start renovations on the home that would become Casa de Maria. A construction team worked through the winter.
Casa de Maria opened this month, and already has a woman living there with other applications ready to review.
The women seeking housing will likely be escaping difficult situations. Casa de Maria would give them a full year after their children are born to get back on their feet.
“Overall, I would say the most common issues are homelessness, domestic violence, abandonment,” Freyne said.
In Spanish, “Casa de Maria” means “Mary’s House.” Providence Pregnancy Center is a Catholic organization, so Mary refers to the mother of Jesus.
“Mary's the perfect example of motherhood and a loving friend to us all,” Freyne said.
Women must be 18 and pregnant to live there. If a woman has children under 5 years old, they can stay with the mother.
The maternity home has room for three moms and their children, but the center plans a fourth bedroom and potentially a fifth.
Each bedroom has a keypad lock to ensure safety and privacy.
Moms will share a kitchen, living and dining rooms and a washer and dryer.
Casa de Maria is along a city bus route. Freyne thought that important as she searched for locations.
“I've seen other maternity homes where they set up in a beautiful country setting,” she said. “The problem with that is that when they're ready to integrate back into their lives, there's no way to really set them up to start working while they're in the home. You can't really have that long-term solution for them if they're not in the place that they're going to be when they leave.”
It’s important to Freyne to give the women a clean and welcoming place to live.
“As a mom walks in the door, they're like, ‘Wow, this is really nice. That's nicer than anything I've ever stayed in.’ It doesn't say anything about us. It says something about you. You're beautiful and you're loved and you're worth it,” she said.
With the region’s lack of maternity homes, she’s seen many women turn to shelters.
“These moms are forced to go into a homeless shelter where you have limitations,” she said. “You can only stay for 30 days. You're mixed with men and women. It's really not a safe place when you're pregnant, even if you're married and you have everything together.”
Promoting the mission
Providence serves women and children in crisis.
“The driving factors for being in crisis are various, but it really all boils down to the same. It's moms who need help, and we try to find creative solutions for them,” Freyne said.
Freyne started the pregnancy center as a ministry out of her church parking lot. She and other parishioners hosted monthly drives for baby clothes, food and maternity items.
She eventually bought the former funeral home right across Scranton’s North Main Avenue from her church.
The funeral home has been converted into the pregnancy center, where women can pick out new baby clothes and supplies. A small building in the back houses a thrift boutique, and the house next door became Casa de Maria.
Freyne wants the women to walk away with a heightened sense of self worth, regardless of which services they use.
“Really, the heart of our mission is to love these women, as much as we're all about giving out material goods and providing safe shelter and providing resources,” she said. “Meet them where they're at, in their suffering and in their situation, and not judge them, that's what we have to offer here, and it's really the heart of our mission.”
Looking to the future
Besides pending renovations on Casa de Maria, Freyne dreams of opening another maternity home. She knows she will eventually have to turn people away from Casa de Maria.
“The greatest barrier is that there's such a need in this community, and there's just not enough help available, especially to the homeless,” she said.
Freyne hopes to connect women with other maternal care providers to develop a network of care.
“We can't do it all, but there's so many great organizations that do, so it's part of our vision going forward is to continue to grow those relationships,” she said.
