For single mothers in need, HEARTH's HOMES program has been providing a helping hand up for nearly 20 years.

“We like to say we provide a hand up, not a handout,” said Vicky Gill, HEARTH communications and community outreach manager.

HEARTH, which stands for Homelessness Ends with Advocacy, Resources, Training and Housing, is a nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing for homeless mothers and their children in Allegheny County. The organization found a permanent home in Shaler a year and a half ago after two years spent in a state of flux, and it has become a significant part of the community.

“We've had a lot of support from the Shaler schools, lots of support from Shaler's manager,” HEARTH Executive Director Judy Eakin said. “We've had so many neighbors and community churches and just people who have seen us, stopped in and offered help to get involved. It's been a wonderful place.”

HOMES, which stands for Helping Open doors for Mothers to Economic Self-sufficiency, is a two-year housing program that helps homeless mothers get back on their feet through education and accountability.

The organization came to Shaler after losing its former leased home in Ross in 2011, when the property was being sold. The HEARTH board purchased the former Zoar Home property on Mt. Royal Boulevard in 2012, remodeled the buildings and moved in during June 2013, Gill said.

There are 20 two- and three-bedroom self-contained apartments in the new location, Gill said.

The new property in Shaler also has garden plots, a playground and an open field for children to play in.

“For so many people, this will be the first time they'll get to garden and learn the benefit in growing things themselves,” Eakin said.

The program accepts single mothers with one to four dependent children.

While in the program, the women must attend some kind of educational program with the goal of obtaining a degree or certification that will lead to employment, Eakin said.

HEARTH staff members work with social-service agencies to help the women find the help they need but do not provide child care for the families.

Eakin said HEARTH's focus on education and independence separates it from other social agencies.

“We believe that people have to have marketable skills if they're truly going to get out of the cycle of poverty and support themselves and their families,” she said. “Education is the key to economic independence.”

HEARTH has five full-time employees, 13 part-time workers and more than 100 volunteers who have become the “lifeblood” of the organization, Gill said.

Up to 30 volunteers help run programs on a regular basis, and dozens more from local churches, Girl Scout troops and other community groups come in to help with events and fundraisers, she said.

“It's so heart-warming and comforting and gives you such a great faith in humanity,” Gill said. “We have a great support system from our churches … It's a lot of little acts that add up.”

Laura Davidson, a deacon at Glenshaw Presbyterian Church, said the congregation held a goods drive last year to collect hygiene and paper products as well as kitchen items for HEARTH's store and provided food for HEARTH's annual holiday party after touring the new facility.

“When they were new in the community last year, another deacon and I took a tour of the place,” Davidson said. “We really took their mission to heart, how they help the women and teach them life skills.”

The mothers pay 30 percent of their adjusted income as an occupancy fee, which for most mothers on public assistance is about $80 to 90 a month. They also have to attend weekly life-skills classes and meetings with a caseworker to discuss and set goals.

The program is strict, but it provides critical support and resources for women who might be experiencing homeless for the first time, Eakin said.

“To give people housing but no skills isn't really a solution,” she said. “This is set up to be a long-term solution for people.”

For more information on HEARTH and its programs, go to hearth-bp.org.

Rachel Farkas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-772-6364 or rfarkas@tribweb.com.

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