Aunt Mary's House Executive Director Brenda White and Aunt Mary's House President Jen Westervelt presenting to the City of Norwich Zoning Board of Appeals at their meeting on May 8. The board voted to approve the zoning designation of the Aunt Mary's House location as a group care facility. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — At last week's meeting, Norwich nonprofit Aunt Mary's House (AMH) was approved by the City of Norwich Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to designate their facility as a group care facility.

Aunt Mary's House is an organization under the umbrella of Improve Norwich Now (INN) that will provide housing to women over the age of 18 who are either pregnant or parenting a child 18 months old or younger, and assist them with medical care, education, transportation, connection to resources, and learning life skills such as caring for their children and home, finding a job, and financial literacy.

Complications arose when the Code Enforcement Office said the proposed AMH facility was designated as a rooming house. AMH representatives appealed the decision, and argued at the May 8 meeting that their facility should be designated as a group care facility, which offers room and board, and access to care and services on a continuous basis.

After hearing a presentation by AMH President Jen Westervelt and AMH Executive Director Brenda White, as well as several community members speaking in support of the organization, ZBA members voted to approve the designation.

Now, Aunt Mary's House can move forward with their project, which means preparing their facility which will house up to four mothers and babies. Westervelt said INN will be signing a lease on the facility on behalf of AMH, and then the organization will be working with Bob Jackson, Jr., a local contractor, to gather bids for renovation work on the home.

It is anticipated the home will be completed in early- to mid-2024.

"We come back to our commitment to do everything we do with quality and professionalism, and so we don’t want to open until we are certain that we can offer quality product both to the residents of Aunt Mary’s House and for our community," said Westervelt. "Especially when we're talking about housing pregnant women and small children, we don’t want to be in the midst of being a construction zone while we are trying to help support successful, healthy lifestyles for these residents."

Women who reside at Aunt Mary's House will work with case managers to identify and access support services, medical care, mental health care, educational opportunities, job opportunities, and more, with the end goal of the women moving into their own apartment and leading successful, healthy lives.

"AMH will provide board at no charge to these individuals, these residents, and we will offer continuous access to care and services through designated staff during the day, as well as on-call staff and volunteers on evenings and weekends," said White. On-call services will also include physicians, nurses, social workers, mental health providers, primary care providers, obstetricians, pediatricians, and crisis lines.

"There will be a rotating on-call schedule that includes staff, board members, and volunteers that will be available at any time, and if needed the on-call person will report to the home," Westervelt added. "Over the past two years we have been actively developing partnerships with local service providers and community members who are eager to participate in providing the care and services needed to support the success of AMH and our residents."

"AMH is viewed as an investment in our own community members, whom we want to see succeed for generations to come."

Aunt Mary's House received sweeping support from the community during last week's meeting. In total, seven letters of support were read during the meeting, and five individuals spoke in front of the ZBA in support of the organization and their mission.

The support also showcased the many connections AMH has made with local organizations and services. Individuals speaking in support of the group included physicians, nurses, local business owners, mental health representatives, elected officials, and more.

"We believe Aunt Mary’s House will be uniquely placed not only to provide a safe haven for the expectant moms and their babies, but also to help them, guide them, to become independent members of our community," said Splendor Inn Owner Chris Smith. "We look forward to helping Aunt Mary’s House achieve its goals and would urge all members of our local community to support this wonderful project."

Westervelt said AMH is grateful for the widespread support of the community.

"We are tremendously thankful for the support, both in terms of written letters of support as well as individuals who came in person and spoke," she said. "While this was a challenging process, we are grateful for the opportunity to really rally our supporters and give them the opportunity to come and be such a public display of collaboration."

While they have already amassed a network of support and services from local organizations and businesses, AMH is always looking to expand their connection to resources to further help the women they serve.

Businesses, organizations, and individuals with skills or services they would like to provide to AMH, or those who would like to volunteer, can do so by contacting White at executivedirector@auntmaryshouse.net or 607-238-3392. Donations can be made at AuntMarysHouse.net.

"We are continuing to build our support network and there is absolutely something for everyone to become a team member for Aunt Mary’s House, whether that is stepping up to be a part of our actual structured system of support, or coming in and offering play groups and different studies for personal growth and development, but also the monetary donations and in-kind donations," said Westervelt.

"These are all areas where, again, this is going to take the whole community coming together and the more people who give a little bit here and there, the less of a burden it is on a smaller group," she continued. "The more we can share this load, it’s a much lighter load and we will be able to come together positively and be encouraged as we offer encouragement to others."

More information on Aunt Mary's House can be found at AuntMarysHouse.net or on the Aunt Mary's House Facebook page.