St. Raymond’s Society to buy former Columbia Ronald McDonald House

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A faith-based nonprofit agency focused on giving at-risk, pregnant mothers what they need is about to get a lot of room to grow.

The St. Raymond’s Society (SRS) has entered into an agreement to buy the current Ronald McDonald House in Columbia in January 2023.

The eight-year-old building at 3501 Lansing Ave. will replace SRS’s current, smaller residence for pregnant women who are in need of assistance, and will allow the society to vastly expand the services it offers.

“It’s absolutely perfect for what we need,” said SRS cofounder Steve Smith.

“It’s as if we designed the building for what we do,” said Mike Hentges, SRS cofounder and executive director.

The facility includes 18 bedrooms, along with classrooms, meeting rooms, a recreation room, a library and a large community kitchen.

The three-acre property includes parking, a playground, a walking path to a nearby park, and plenty of room for orderly expansion.

“Like I said, perfect,” said Mr. Smith.

The Ronald McDonald House accommodates parents and families of children in nearby Women’s and Children’s Hospital and other hospitals in Columbia.

A new Ronald McDonald House will need to be built near the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, which is under construction near University Hospital and is scheduled to open in 2024.

The current Ronald McDonald House property became available just as SRS was planning to build a new facility to meet the growing need for the services it provides.

“We were running into some roadblocks with that,” Mr. Smith noted, “and right when we affirmed we were open to God leading us in another direction, this opportunity opened up right before us.”

It took about two weeks to reach an agreement with the Ronald McDonald House’s curators.

“The building has been meticulously maintained,” said Mr. Hentges. “It’s a warm place that feels like home.”

The home in Jefferson City will remain open. The current home in Columbia will be sold to another nonprofit organization when the new one opens.

Mr. Hentges, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia, and Mr. Smith, a member of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City, founded SRS 12 years ago as a volunteer service network to help pregnant women overcome the obstacles to choosing life for their preborn babies.

“We exist to save lives by empowering mothers,” said Mr. Hentges, who became SRS’s full-time executive director in 2020.

“Yes, we take care of the child,” he stated. “But we start by recognizing the dignity of the mother and helping her realize her untapped potential.”

Looking for home

SRS is named in honor of St. Raymond Nonnatus, patron saint of pregnant women, preborn babies and childbirth.

The society’s founding principle is that it’s not enough to say that abortion is wrong and simply wish a struggling mother well.

“Sometimes, the mother can get forgotten in the whole pro-life conversation,” said Mr. Hentges. “We can never let that happen.”

“Jesus makes it very clear,” said Mr. Smith, “that we’re supposed to be helping people who need it. We can’t just pray for them and send them on their way.”

About 20 years ago Mr. Hentges made a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life.

On the way back, he asked God to show him ways to help pregnant women in difficult circumstances choose life for their babies.

He shared what he was thinking with Mr. Smith, who agreed to help turn the inspiration into reality.

They got off to a modest start, with the men gathering up what they could and lining up people to help women who are pregnant and in need.

It quickly became clear that one of the biggest impediments to motherhood for many of SRS’s clients is access to safe, affordable housing. But the founders didn’t have enough money to buy and staff a house.

“I figured it would be something we’d still be considering in 10 years,” Mr. Hentges recalled.

But with help from generous donors and the Missouri Maternity Home state tax-credit program, SRS bought and renovated a home in Jefferson City and another in Columbia, allowing the organization to provide transitional housing to clients in a community environment.

A place at the table

Mr. Smith noted that SRS’s goal has gone from offering transitional housing to providing transformational housing.

Members of the SRS staff help mothers find jobs, obtain college degrees and secure stable housing.

“To qualify for our program, you only need to be a new or expectant mother who needs and wants to be helped,” said Mr. Hentges.

“If you’re willing to accept our program, our guidance, our coaching, then you’ll be able to get to a place where you’re able to make it on your own,” he said.

The average stay for moms is eight months to a year. For many clients, it’s an opportunity to break free from a toxic environment.

“If you’re living day-to-day in a crisis, bad decisions are inevitable,” said Mr. Smith. “So you come here, relax and then start working toward goals that are more beneficial for you and your baby.”

The goal of SRS’s faith-based, comprehensive, whole-person curriculum, known as “My Be-YOU-tiful Journey,” is for the mothers to be ready to be a parent and run a household.

The SRS staff is taking an increasingly proactive approach to inviting the babies’ fathers into the program and active participation in parenting.

“We’ve always been eager to work with the fathers, but now we’re really going to enhance that,” said Mr. Hentges.

What immediately struck Mr. Smith about SRS’s new facility is the large and functional community kitchen.

“It’s beautiful!” he said. “It’s a place where everyone in the house can gather around the table and form community.”

“All around,” said Mr. Hentges, “this new home will allow us to better facilitate the program, which addresses the whole person — physical, mental and emotional, and most of all, spiritual.

“Our clients will have those opportunities at their fingertips to grow in all three areas,” he said.

The new building includes a studio apartment for a nighttime guardian who will look after the residents and help keep them safe.

SRS’s clients who do not need housing will spend time at the center taking classes and working on their parenting, job and life skills.

SRS operates an after-hours computer lab for the mothers to work on such things as classwork and filling out job applications.

Plans call for opening a daytime pre-school and evening daycare center near the home, to help the women taking classes and working in the computer lab.

A higher calling

While SRS serves people of all beliefs and backgrounds, it has become more intentional about helping the women grow in their faith, focusing first on stories of Jesus healing people and restoring their dignity and proper place in the community.

“Many of the women we serve come from no faith background at all,” Mr. Smith noted. “The majority have never heard the story of Jesus and the Woman at the Well, or of Him forgiving the woman who had been caught in adultery.”

“Those stories are synonymous with what we do,” said Mr. Hentges. “Jesus is the source of all transformation. And that’s what our clients are here for: to be transformed.”

The whole SRS staff recognizes that they are doing God’s work.

“This is what I’m called to do,” said Mr. Hentges. “Sometimes you don’t choose your purpose. Your purpose chooses you.”

Things in common

Mr. Smith noted that SRS takes the politics out of the pro-life debate by uniting people on both sides behind the task of helping women.

One visitor to SRS who strongly favors access to abortion told Mr. Smith and Mr. Hentges that she was trying to find fault with what they were doing, “but I can’t find anything.”

SRS has helped over 1,000 women and children in some way.

Testimonies from former clients are astounding.

“St. Raymond’s let me know I wasn’t alone,” one of the program’s graduates stated. “I wouldn’t trade life right now for anything. I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time ... a LONG time!”

Another mother spoke of how SRS helped her get her life and her family back on track.

“They guided me through the dark tunnels when I lost my babies for five months,” she stated. “They helped me get them back. They provided me with the tools I needed to succeed in life.”

Other former clients, when asked — “What is the most helpful aspect of your time with St. Raymond’s?” — answered:

  • “Being able to have a place where you weren’t worried about where you were going to stay, so I could have time to manage to get things done.”
  • “Feeling like there’s someone who actually cares.”
  • “Realizing that God is there for me no matter what.”
  • “Being my own person and focusing on things I needed to do.”

The clients also minister to the SRS staff through their own passion and transformation.

“Everytime they say thank you, it’s a validation,” said Mr. Hentges.

“And it reminds us that we’re all connected,” said Mr. Smith. “When you walk through the struggle with them or celebrate the successes with them, we’re one. We’re celebrating as a community.”

Means to an end

SRS has raised some of the money to buy the new facility and is conducting a capital campaign to raise the rest of the money by the end of this year.

“Our goal is to be able to pay cash for it,” said Mr. Hentges.

SRS donors qualify for recently expanded Missouri tax credits, which could make a big difference on larger donors’ tax bill.

“But the people who win the most are Mom and the babies,” said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Hentges said the larger building and expanded programs will lead to a growing staff and will open the door to more opportunities for volunteers at SRS.

Visit srshelp.org to learn about volunteering or contributing to the capital campaign, or follow St. Raymond’s Society on Facebook.

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