In service to both women and children, Women Helping Others

added a third philanthropic effort in the summer of 2008, the Father Ed Judy House.  Serving homeless, single mothers and their young children, their purpose is to work intensively with each family to help them move into more stable long-term housing.  The program serves up to nine families, 30 people total, in an intimate group home setting.  The Father Ed Judy House, supported by the Catholic Charities, provides meals, toiletries, case management, individual counseling services, transportation assistance, a children’s program and numerous referrals to various community resources. 

The way Women Helping Others decided they could best affect the lives of these mothers and children was to assist them in equipping their new homes.  For each family who “graduates” from the Father Ed Judy House program, WHO provides them with a Home Starter Kit, composed of basic necessities:  dishes, pots and pans, sheets, towels, food staples and cleaning supplies.  Occasionally other household items and furniture are also provided by WHO members.  When one of the recent families moved out, the mother wrote a heartwarming note to Women Helping Others:  “If it wasn’t for you helping me I wouldn’t have known where to start.  God bless you and thank you!”

Families residing at the Father Ed Judy House are also “adopted” by Women Helping Others for the Christmas holidays, providing gifts to the mothers and their children.