What does a Host Family do?
- Invites a young, pregnant woman to live in their home
- Offers her a private bedroom
- Provides her meals
- Treats her as a member of the family providing her with encouragement, love, household chores, etc.
- Stays connected with an APO caseworker for ongoing support in hosting a girl in your home
Essential characteristics for volunteering as a Host Family:
- Has a love for Christ and desire to serve others
- Has a mother figure in the home, preferably working less than 20 hours per week
- Does not have teenaged boys in the home (or young adult, unmarried men in the home)
- Has a spare bedroom so our APO girl would not be sharing a room with a family member
The following characteristics are not essential, but can often be very complementary for this ministry.
- Small children are in the home
- Host mom is able to attend doctor’s visits with girl
Application Process:
- Download the Client Contact Volunteer Application. This is a fillable Word document. When complete, save to your computer the send as an attachment to: diane@pregnancyoutreach.org. In the body of your email, explain your interest in hosting a pregnant woman in your home.
2. Set up an interview with an APO staff member. We will discuss both the joys and challenges of host family living, what you can expect from APO, and what APO can expect from your family.
3. Submit consent for background checks.
4. Obtain a drug screen and TB test.
5. Meet with the pregnant girl and APO staff members to introduce your family, your home, and basic ground rules for living in your home.
6. Welcome her into your home!