Maternity Home Branches Out
House of His Creation (HOHC) is a ministry that has worked for nearly 50 years to affirm life by providing women with a place to heal and grow through maternity and after. HOHC currently oversees a maternity home at 301 N. Broad St., Lititz. The ministry will soon be expanding its reach by opening a new home in Pensacola, Fla., that will offer a safe haven to teenage girls who have been victims of human trafficking. "We are not rescuing. We are protecting," said Matthew Neff, director of HOHC.
In 2018, when the ministry was briefly called Family of Restoration Ministries (FORM), its location at the Abundant Living Ministries campus in northern Lititz was being used for dual purposes. "We made the decision pre-COVID to just use the apartments (at the campus) for ministry," said Matt, who noted that the apartments filled quickly with women leaving abusive situations. The location was good for that purpose, but for the women living in the adjacent maternity home who needed transportation for employment, training, and other services, it was less than ideal.
To remedy the situation, HOHC relocated to Lititz and began exploring ways it could help women escaping abuse or human trafficking. HOHC staff members discovered that in Florida, they could provide a safe, healing environment for teenagers. Now, house parents Matt and his wife, Callie, are preparing to move to the new location. On Sunday, June 26, a drop-in event will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at the maternity home to give friends of the ministry a chance to say, goodbye to the couple. Parking will be available at St. Luke's United Church of Christ, located across the street from the home.
As a division of HOHC, 685, as the house in Florida will be called, will offer a place for girls who have been rescued from human trafficking. "We will offer a safe pause where she can go to bed and feel safe and try to establish what normal looks like going forward," said Matt, who noted that 685 will not focus on trafficking issues. "There are plenty of people doing a fine job raising awareness (about human trafficking)," said Matt. "Our focus will be holistic family healing and a knowledge of being safe and trying to become accustomed to that."
Although HOHC in Lititz provides housing for women who are age 18 and older, Callie noted that the original focus of the ministry was on younger girls. "We are going back to serving minors for the safe home," said Callie. "We have all these years of experience to utilize," she said.
Back in Lititz, program director Michelle Gibbs will continue to work with women in the maternity program while also striving to build up the aftercare program for new mothers who need further support both at the home and in the community. "Lititz will remain our office and point of contact," said Callie, noting that HOHC's website - http://www.hohc.org - will still cover both ministries.
Matt noted that while the new facility will need to fundraise, response to the growth of the ministry has been positive. "The reception has been amazing," he said. "(There has been an) outpouring of people who have been financially supportive and (willing to) to volunteer."
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