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Troubled girls find a H.O.M.E.
or most teenage girls, the prospect of an unexpected pregnancy means entering a dark place bereft of hope and full of challenges that cannot possibly be met. For many, the situation resembles more punishment than blessing. At Hands of Mercy Everywhere (H.O.M.E.), a maternity home in Belleview, the goal is to foster a nurturing environment that puts young girls on a trajectory toward a happy ending, or at least one that avoids the tragic outcomes that are all too common. Founder and CEO of H.O.M.E., Diane
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| MAR 2022 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM
Schofield, explains that many young girls are victims of mental and sexual abuse or have parents in jail or have been neglected or even abandoned. In their trauma, “these young girls are looking for love in all the wrong places. It shouldn’t be a punishment for them because they are carrying a child,” Schofield said. She says that girls may think the only options for them are abortion or adoption, becoming a good parent not among them. H.O.M.E. provides access to education and health care that would have been denied these young girls, and it comes with provid-
ing life lessons with Christian values. In the past 18 years, H.O.M.E. has grown to become one of the largest maternity homes in the state of Florida and currently houses 17 girls and six babies. Through the Florida Department of Children and Families, girls come to H.O.M.E. and most bring with them a life deficient of proper rearing. Once at H.O.M.E., girls begin to receive physical, mental and spiritual development they had likely never experienced. “They’ve been placed with us through
Photos courtesy of Hands of Mercy Everywhere
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Hands of Mercy Everywhere — putting young mothers on a trajectory toward a happy ending ››BY CARLTON REESE
