Mary's Shelter was the vision of one woman, Jan Lindsay, who wanted to make it possible for pregnant girls without adequate family support to choose life for their babies. Her vision was embraced by the members of her prayer group at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Tustin in 1984. With great effort and perseverance that small group of people, under the faithful leadership of Joan Basile, brought the dream to fruition.

Property was purchased, a license obtained and in September of 1994 the doors of the small home were opened to six pregnant girls. By 1998, with the help of HomeAid Orange County, two new homes were built on the property with the capacity to house and care for a total of eighteen teens and twelve babies at a time. The one acre lot also features a garden, a tot lot and gazebo centered on the large patio.

Since state subsidies for homeless pregnant minors ended in 2003, Mary's Shelter has been the only maternity home in the State of California that welcomes pregnant teens who are NOT in the foster care system. This is because it costs about three times more to care for a pregnant minor than for a woman over 18, due to licensing regulations designed to protect minors.

While originally opened as a maternity home, our program now also includes a strong parenting component to reflect the need for continuing care after many minors give birth. In our first 17 years, over 400 healthy babies have been delivered to Mary's Shelter residents and even more pregnant teens and their families have been helped through this critical time in their young lives.

Mary's Shelter in Orange County, California was the second of five maternity homes Jan Lindsay initiated since 1982. Similar, but unaffiliated homes now also operate in Dakota County, Minnesota, Berks County, Pennsylvania, Seminole County, Florida and Baldwin County, Alabama.

Our Name:

Mary's Shelter was named after the mother of Jesus Christ, herself a pregnant teenager who said "yes" to an unplanned pregnancy. Mary is a wonderful role model for our teen mothers.

Wall of Honor:

	Reverend Leo John Celano, O.Praem. honored in 2006 Father Leo served as the spiritual compass for the founders beginning in 1984, served on the Board of Directors as recently as 2008 and offers spiritual formation for residents of Mary’s Shelter.
	Joan and Dick Basile honored in 2007 Mary’s Shelter was established through Joan’s untiring efforts at planning and fundraising. After its opening in 1994, Joan continued to volunteer many hours per week as the Volunteer Coordinator and Receptionist at Mary’s Shelter while Dick served on the Board of Directors.
	Paul Peek honored in 2008 Paul provided exceptional leadership to the Board of Directors for over fourteen years, serving as President and Chairman from before Mary's Shelter opened until he was named Chairman Emeritus in 2007. His gifts of time, talent and treasure were based on his passion for the unborn and compassion for teen mothers in need.
	Evie Pilkington honored in 2009 As Mary’s Shelter prepared to open its doors in 1994, Evie stripped wallpaper and painted the kitchen of the first house. She then formed a small Auxiliary and coordinated all fundraising events for Mary’s Shelter for ten years. This passionately pro-life volunteer also served on the Board of Directors from 1997 through 2006 when she moved to an Advisory capacity.
	Pat and Mary Dirk honored in 2010 Mary and Pat Dirk’s hearts for disadvantaged children were touched when they first visited Mary’s Shelter in 2004. Since then they have made generous personal contributions as well as annual gifts from their company, Troy Group, Inc. The Dirk’s also provided a new server and computers for Mary’s Shelter and filled tables at our Gala each year, where they offered a large Challenge Gift to encourage other guests to ‘dig deep.’ Pat also serves as an Advisor to the Mary’s Shelter Board.
	Peggy Holmes honored in 2011 In 1995, Peggy learned about a new local ministry starting down the street from her church, and asked how she could help. She began volunteering as a mentor for pregnant teens, provided transportation for weekend outings, and accompanied our girls through their labor and delivery. Sensing their lack of spiritual formation Peggy started teaching a weekly bible study class during each school year and has done so for the last nine years. In 2008 Peggy joined our Board of Directors and continues to serve as Corporate Secretary. She and her husband, Harry, have been supporters of Mary’s Shelter all these 15 years. Thank you Peggy for allowing our teen moms to feel the unconditional love of God poured out through you.