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During Your Stay at Our Lady's Inn
At Our Lady's Inn, each family has their own room. We arrange the furniture in the rooms according to each family's needs. Because of the generosity of many donors, we are also able to provide clothing, personal products, school supplies for the moms and children and baby items for the infants. Each room includes beds to sleep in, linens, towels, personal products, chest of drawers, folder with the house rules, a crib for the precious newborn. When available, we include a storage bin, desk, lamp and clock radio. Laundry facilities and supplies are free to the residents. Meals are provided by the on-staff cook. The building is staffed 24 hours per day, all year round, by the House Monitors and Live-In House Monitors. Both locations of Our Lady's Inn have disabled-accessible rooms.
The pregnant and post-partum moms (moms who have given birth after moving into the shelter) at Our Lady's Inn-St. Louis and Our Lady's Inn-St. Charles keep a full schedule aimed at improving their financial, educational, employment, health, mental health, parenting, interpersonal, spiritual, housing and other personal and family situations. All school-aged children are required to be enrolled in and attending school. Any moms without a high school diploma or GED (General Equivalency Diploma) are required to attend GED or High School classes. All family members must keep medical and other essential appointments.
The moms are required to attend workshops at Our Lady's Inn and at other locations. Some of the topics covered are:
- educational goals for adults and children
- employment and resume readiness; interview skills
- budgeting
- parenting and child development
- domestic violence/abuse prevention and recovery
- tenant/landlord rights
- first aid and CPR
- stress/anger management
- healthy relationships & healthy marriage
- exercise, recreation, hobbies, crafts
- drug/alcohol abuse prevention and recovery
- mental health and wholeness
- interpersonal skills and communication
- housing and stability readiness
- developmental delays
- physical health, labor preparedness, prenatal and postnatal care
- personal and family safety
- abstinence
- STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) prevention
These dedicated workers keep Our Lady's Inn going ...and the moms motivated...all year long:
Executive Director
Program Directors
Family Specialists (Case Managers)
Child Education Coordinators
Nurses
Counselors
Cooks
Janitors
Office Managers
House Monitors
Live-In House Monitors/House Parents
AfterCare Workers
Transportation/Drivers
Development & Volunteer Coordinators
Board Members
Donors/Supporters
Prayer Warriors
and many volunteers!
Upon Moving Out of Our Lady's Inn
The average stay at Our Lady's Inn is approximately 4-7 months for a family. The goal is to move into -- or at least prepare to move into -- affordable, permanent, decent, safe housing. Since affordable decent housing is not plentiful, other options include referrals to available transitional housing, subsidized housing, market rate housing, other shelters, or relocating with family or friends. Our Lady's Inn offers 2 years of follow-up AfterCare case management services, including home visits and referrals, for clients who voluntarily sign up to participate.
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