PCF’s Pasadena Child Health Foundation (PCHF) Grant will support Elizabeth House’s Perinatal Prevention and Early Intervention for Children program.
The Elizabeth House is a nonprofit that has been providing comprehensive care and support to women and children in the Pasadena area for 30 years. It is the only organization in Los Angeles and Orange counties that welcomes pregnant mothers and their children under the age of five into their residential program, creating a haven for women who desperately need support. The organization strives to improve the emotional and mental wellbeing of women and their children and strengthen their skills to secure healthy and stable lives.
In May 2024, Elizabeth House was one of 12 local organizations to receive a grant from Pasadena Child Health Foundation (PCHF) to help the organization improve the emotional and mental wellbeing of women and their children and strengthen their skills to secure healthy and stable lives. The PCHF funding will be directed to its Perinatal Prevention and Early Intervention for Children program, which supports up to 350 client children and mothers.
Starting Early to Prevent Homelessness
Because 100 percent of Elizabeth House’s clients have experienced or were at risk of experiencing homelessness, the organization’s Maternal Mental Health program — a component to the Perinatal Prevention and Early Intervention for Children program — uses an array of interventions and support to empower mothers to overcome homelessness and build thriving lives and families. Children living in homelessness are twice as likely as non-homeless peers to experience chronic hunger, developmental delays, child abuse, and more.
Recognizing that support cannot start too early, Elizabeth House staff begins their work when children are in utero: By increasing health support for the mother, they ultimately protect the child’s early development:
“The emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health of pregnant women is linked inextricably to their child(ren). And as science has informed us, thriving brain development and growth in early childhood is key to happier and healthier families” reflects Jill Hammer, Executive Director of Elizabeth House.
Once a child is born, Elizabeth House continues to offer basic needs support, case management, and other resources needed to break the cycle of homelessness. This holistic and family-centered approach provides individualized treatment to each child, mother, and family. The organization goes above and beyond to provide all-encompassing services for mothers to build a new legacy of strength, self-sufficiency, and promise.