A home for young mothers will open its doors this fall

A new service will be offered to young mothers in the region this year. The Options organization has purchased a former seniors’ residence on Haute-Rivière in Châteauguay in order to transform it into a transition home for pregnant teenagers and teen mothers. This project will be the first of its kind of the organization. 

Translation by Amanda Bennett

“This is the most beautiful, perfect place for [this project] to transpire,” said Suzy McVeigh DiBiaso, Options’ Director of Communications and Community Development. But the organization didn’t think it would be able to buy the house. “We simply didn’t have the money,” explained Ms. McVeigh DiBiaso.

Private donations arrived at just the right time, which allowed the centre to acquire the residence. Up to eight young women aged 14 to 25 will be able to stay with their children for a period ranging from one to three years. The inauguration is expected in the fall of 2022. 

A need amplified by current crises

Options’ Communications Director asserted that there was a significant need for such a home within the community. 

“There is a housing shortage within Montérégie to begin with,” said Suzy McVeigh DiBiaso. “And if someone finds themselves pregnant, and especially if they’re underage, it’s very difficult right now to find lodging, especially during COVID. So, we are faced on a very regular basis with individuals who are experiencing chronic homelessness, sometimes forced into choices that would otherwise be uncomfortable with, sometimes sex trade industry or a different thing because there is a lack of housing.”

The program will not only consist the of offering temporary housing. It will also seek to help young women gain long-term housing, while offering life skills development, like budgeting, meal preparations and parenting workshops, among others.  

Options is part of Montreal Youth Unlimited, a religious charity registered under the name of Montreal Youth for Christ. It aims to provide resources to youth experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, explains the organization’s Facebook page.  

Options Centre’s mission questioned

In an investigation published by La Presse in January of 2019, Options was identified as an anti-abortion centre. Whereas the group says it offers neutral information about all of the options available following an unexpected pregnancy, it encourages its clients to keep the child or put the child up for adoption, and discourages abortion, the article concluded.  

Questioned on the topic, Ms. McVeigh DiBiaso answered that the Options is not an anti-abortion centre at all. The fact that the organization is faith-based does not influence how the group works “in the sense that we share all three legal options,” she said.  

“We create a safe space for a person to explore what life can look like through the three different options that are consistent with her own belief system,” she said, adding that she acknowledges the organization falls into a “grey zone” where it neither identifies as pro-choice or pro-life. 

When a client decides to have an abortion, they are referred to the public health system. If they decide to keep the baby or put the child up for adoption, the organization offers resources such as donated children’s clothing, workshops and respite where volunteers can watch the children, explained Ms. McVeigh DiBiaso.