12/22/2025
This year, our Shelter the Start initiative came to life and it mirrors a key message of the coming week, when many reflect on the timeless story of a mother seeking shelter and safety for her newborn.
Over the past years, we’ve met far too many parents facing that same challenge. We literally receive calls from hospitals asking for support for mothers who just delivered their baby and have nowhere to go. Because of this, we launched our Shelter the Start initiative, offering unhoused pregnant and postpartum families a secure place to rest, heal, and bond during the first fragile days of life. In our first pilot year, we've provided 20 individuals with emergency housing, while receiving our perinatal and housing support to ensure long term success. Our goal: provide a secure environment for recovery, bonding, & infant care, resulting in reductions in health complications, including lower rates of NICU admission, increased pediatric/postpartum clinic visits, & improved breastfeeding and parent-child attachment.
As we celebrate light, renewal, and new beginnings in all their forms, we’re grateful to everyone making this program possible. Because when we open the door to safety for even one mother and newborn, we honor the very heart of the season: compassion, dignity, and the promise of a better beginning. Thank you Open Horizon Foundation for helping us Shelter the Start. ❤️
