Amid recent attacks by pro-abortion activists against maternity homes and pregnancy resource centers, one mom said she owed her life to one.
Danielle Nicholson was in a pregnancy crisis when she was 20 years old. She turned to the Paul Stefan Foundation in Locust Grove, Virginia, for aid and was welcomed with open arms by Randy and Evelyn James, the center's founders.
Nicholson is now the mom of a nine-year-old daughter, and she has made a career as a foster care social worker. She attributed her current success to the fresh start and help she got during her stay at the maternity home.
Nicholson credits the Paul Stefan Home for her success now
She reflected on her life in an interview with EWTN Pro-Life Weekly on September 15. She said that at the time, her situation was pretty dire in that she was not working towards any future goals for herself and was not living a very good life. She added that she was just trying to get by, but the moment she found out that she was pregnant, it completely changed the trajectory of her life.
She realized then that she now had a baby that she needed to live for, so she immediately changed her mindset. She started living a sober life, with Nicholson going back to school and beginning to organize her life so she could take care of her child.
She came across the Paul Stefan Home during this time. According to Nicholson, the home provided her, during her five-year stay, with the perfect opportunity to accomplish all the goals that she had for herself.
Nicholson said that she was not only given resources to pursue a professional life but also shown love in the home, which she was still very much in need of during that time.
Randy and Evelyn taught Nicholson significant life lessons
She said that she still needed a lot of love and support from adults and parents. She paid tribute to Randy and Evelyn, saying that they just immediately started to shower her with so much love, support, kindness, and patience.
She noted that they taught her some significant life lessons, such as what it meant to be a professional, what it meant to be respectful, what it meant to have integrity, and what it meant to be ambitious. She added that Evelyn taught her the best way to be the best mother, saying that she walked her through every step of motherhood.
With Nicholson now a foster care social worker, she strives to use her powerful story to encourage others to overcome their struggles, according to Catholic News Agency. She said that she tries her very best to impact anyone's life that she has to work with, including those who have experienced abuse, trauma, and neglect. She has the experience to deal with them as her background has all of that, and she managed to get through it.
