Good Counsel celebrates 37 years of LIFE today! Co-founded in 1985 by the Rev. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, and Christopher Bell, Good Counsel has served more than 8,000 mothers and children, providing more than 774,607 nights of shelter. To date 1,264 babies have been born to Good Counsel mothers since the first home opened in Hoboken, NJ.  

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Last year, in 2021, twenty-four babies were born to mothers living at Good Counsel, including two sets of twins.

Good Counsel runs four homes, three in the greater New York City metropolitan area, and one outside Camden, NewJersey. Good Counsel has helped to open eleven similar homes in nine other states, and continues to offer guidance and other assistance for people interested in opening maternity homes based on the Good Counsel model.  

           Our four homes have remained open throughout the Covid pandemic. Ideally, mothers stay in the program for up to a year, in order to reap the maximum benefits of ourLife Skills Program. Staff and volunteers teach the program courses, which focus on nutrition, spirituality, health and chastity, social skills, computer education and more. Assistance is given in parenting, job skills, career placement and personal budgeting.

           Good Counsel also operates a post-abortion counseling and referral network called Lumina to help women, men, and siblings of aborted children who are suffering from past abortions. Confidential counseling is available through Lumina’s toll-free helpline 877.586.4621, or for information, please visitwww.postabortionhelp.org 

           Additionally, the Good Counsel 24/7 helpline (1.800.723.8331) received thousands of calls and online requests for help from pregnant moms and families last year. More than 42,000people have been assisted through the helpline since it began in April, 1996.

           GoodCounsel provides a safe and secure learning environment for both mother and child. Many mothers are already working before they leave our homes. We stay in touch with moms through our Exodus Program, where former residents receive material assistance and on-going counseling to ease the difficulties of transition to independent living. Good Counsel staff has assisted hundreds of families through the community outreach program.

           Twenty-one year sago, Good Counsel was one of the founders of the Pregnancy Services Network of Greater NewYork, a coalition of maternity homes and pregnancy centers in the area. Ten years ago, Good Counsel helped to form the National Maternity HousingCoalition, a group of three dozen maternity homes throughout the U.S.

"Happy birthday to Good Counsel" is really a happy birthday to everyone who comes through our doors; to the babies born, to the moms given a fresh start, to the staff ushering in and nurturing new life everyday.  

And to our friends and family, thank you for continued your support! May God bless you and may God continue to bless Good Counsel's homes!

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 #lifeislove#happybirthday#37years#andmanymore