A charming, idyllic residence in Bartow, Florida—known as the “My Girl House”—has been transformed into a refuge of hope for expectant mothers.
On August 23, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the official opening of Hope House, a maternity home designed to serve, equip, and empower first-time, expectant moms who choose life for their babies.
“Moms will live on-site, free of charge, and complete a 12-month program aimed at setting them up to live a thriving life,” said Executive Director Tara Johnson, in an Instagram post.
Previously, Hope House was a private residence and a tourist destination for fans of the 1991 movie “My Girl,” a coming-of-age drama that features 11-year-old Vada Sultenfuss (played by Anna Chlumsky) and her dad (Dan Akroyd). The film, which also starred Macaulay Culkin and Jamie Lee Curtis, was shot in the home and surrounding community. Set against the backdrop of the funeral parlor (located in the home) owned by Vada’s father, “My Girl” explores themes of love, loss, and the bittersweet nature of childhood.
Hope House recently received some unexpected, but very welcome publicity when two fans of the movie, HGTV personalities Ben and Erin Napier, visited the location a week before the grand opening. When Erin Napier took a photo on the steps where Vada sat, a woman walked out on the porch and invited them to see the inside.
Once inside, the Napiers, hosts of the “Home Town” renovation show, were impressed to discover how this home would soon be used to support expectant mothers. Erin shared the news with her 1.5 million Instagram followers, encouraging them to give a financial gift.
“Here is a good story of God doing a big thing,” she wrote. “In the movie, the house was a funeral parlor, but in real life it’s becoming Hope House, a beautifully renovated home with bedrooms and nurseries for expectant single mothers who find themselves in crisis pregnancies. I felt teary hearing stories of the money raised by donations and work done exclusively by volunteers to give these women in need a refuge…We’ll be giving them a gift and you can too at hopehousefl.org.”
The encounter with the HGTV stars also encouraged the faith of Johnson, Hope House’s executive director. In an Instagram post, she shared some details from her own pregnancy decision testimony and recalled recently saving a phone screenshot of a prayer that read: “Show me glimpses of Your divine nature and power by showing off through my life.”
“[God] is doing just that,” she wrote. “Today I had the honor of showing @erinapier and @scotsman.co our “hometown” renovation…”
“Almost 12 years ago I sat on the bathroom floor staring at a positive pregnancy test scared to death and certain I had ruined my entire life. Friday, I open the doors to a maternity home. God can redeem it all, take even the most shameful parts of your life make them your story, and use it all for his glory. Every time. Always.”
In a video on the non-profit organization’s website, Founder Jill Green, the mother of four boys, said Hope House started as “a dream God placed in my heart. He gave me the vision for it.”
That vision is to support and resource women who faced with pregnancy decisions who may otherwise feel that they have no other option, but to terminate the life inside of them.
“When they step out of Hope House, we want them to feel confident and secure in raising their own family,” Green said.
Hope House has six suites that can accommodate six first-time moms, who will come in their first trimester and stay for 12 months. Programming will cover financial literacy, job readiness, relationship skills, “and everything they need to live an abundant life for themselves and their babies,” Johnson said.
Referrals will come from pregnancy centers in the local area, including Care Net affiliates Options for Women and A Woman’s Choice, according to an article in The Lakelander.
In that article, Johnson called the renovation of the 7,396 square-foot home “nothing short of miraculous” and credited the help of Christians in the local community.
“We are collectively taking our impact, influence, and resources and laying it on the table for the Lord and seeing what he is going to do,” she said. “He has done incredible things to get us to this point, and we believe this is only the beginning for Hope House. With the extraordinary need there is for programs and homes like this, we pray this is the first of many homes.”