When we started our podcast a month or two ago, we thought we might stir up some conversation, inform listeners about Maggie’s Place, engage some new supporters and bring more awareness to the work at Maggie’s Place. We were right on all counts. What we didn’t think of was how much we would learn from the moms, the AmeriCorps members and the interaction.
We’ve broadcast from The Magdalene House, The Michael House, the library at The Family Resource Center, The Hannah House and just about anywhere we can get guests to sit for a bit and chat.
Some stories are heartbreaking.
Alumnae Family Coach Emily Funkhauser and Alumnae mom Lorraine recount a tear filled story.
Lorraine had lost her older children. They were taken away when her drug habit got the better of her and her life. When her baby was born, she left the hospital without him. “When I was pregnant I stayed at Maggie’s Place. They took me to the hospital. And then I came home alone.”
The court gave her the “way” to regain custody and Lorraine never looked back. She completed every step and more. When they said attend a class, she attended a series. “I was determined to get my babies back. When I got custody again, my older one didn’t understand. He thought he had another mom. That was my fault. I will not let these babies down.”
Emily’s eyes fill with tears. She counseled Lorraine through the process. “Emily stayed by my side the whole time. She cried with me. I wasn’t walking alone,” says Lorraine.
She made connections not just with staff and AmeriCorps but with the other mothers who lifted her up when she felt she couldn’t stand on her own. She shows a new tattoo, a forever reminder of Maggie’s Place. She and another alumnae mom went together for the identical marks. They read:
#Loverocks Loveliveshere — two things we say at Maggie’s Place.
Then there’s Avary. She grew up in a group home. She talks to Program Director Julie Carlberg and Podcast Producer Pinky Guerrero with her three-month-old asleep on her shoulder.
“I had to learn how to be a mom. It’s hard to be a mom. If not for Maggie’s Place, my daughter would have been adopted. They gave me shelter. They gave me diapers.” She says in one year she’d like to have a full time job and a home close to Maggie’s Place so she can keep in contact.
The conversations are a testament to the environment created at Maggie’s Place, to breaking the barriers of “us” and “them.” The podcast is a way to bring the conversation to the forefront–a conversation about human dignity, social justice, compassion, sharing your life with others, sharing a meal and creating a human connection.
Wanna listen? Tune in to all eight podcasts: https://anchor.fm/maggies-place.
