Thursday, June 17, 1999

Pregnant teens have loving home

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Hamilton church dedicates house to give girls hope

BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jenny Hudson, director of the John Henry House, and the Rev. Sam Luke. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        HAMILTON — After 17 years of trying to have a baby, Donna Luke was finally pregnant. But her much-wanted baby was stillborn on July 8, 1988.

        Now, almost 11 years after that sad day in Mobile, Ala., Mrs. Luke and her husband, Sam, are rejoicing. On Wednesday, they dedicated The John Henry House — a home for unwed mothers that is named after their deceased infant son.

        “We prayed to God to help us make his memory count for something,” said Mr. Luke, who is the pastor of The Princeton Pike Church of God. “We thought that by doing this, we might help his memory live on and that we might be able to help save some other babies.”

        Using about $30,000 donated by some of the church's 3,500 members, the Lukes converted the parsonage behind the church at 2470 Princeton Road, into the John Henry House.

        Asked where the church will get funds to keep the house running, the minister said, “It's a venture of faith.”

        That faith has played out in the Lukes' lives, too.

        “It was really a devastating thing for us when (John Henry) was born without life,” Mr. Luke said. “But then a few months later, we were blessed by being able to adopt a beautiful little girl.”

        Their daughter Sarah is now 12.

        Inside John Henry House, a mock bassinet was being filled with currency and personal checks from some of the 50 or so people who attended the dedication.

        Mayor Tom Nye, who spoke at the ceremony, praised the church for taking this step to help young expectant mothers.

        “Too often, you see politicians saying things but not doing much. You see church leaders saying things and not doing much. Here today, we're doing things,” he said.

        The four-bedroom home is tended around-the-clock by a small staff and a corps of volunteers. It now is permitted to hold only four unwed mothers, but could accommodate as many as eight if the church gets a zoning change that would allow the larger occupancy, said Janny Hutson, house director.

        “Even before we opened, we started getting calls, just by word-of-mouth. So we know there's a need for this,” she said.

        According to the Children's Defense Fund, nearly 17,000 unmarried Ohio teens had ba bies in 1996 — and the cities of Hamilton and Middletown are two of the state's 48 communities with the worst combination of teen births, poverty and high school dropouts.

        There are about a half-dozen homes for unwed teens in Ohio.

        The John Henry House provides free room and board, Bible studies, professional counseling, home schooling, classes on both parenting and adoption and other programs.

        Backers hope it will provide an alternative to abortion.

        “We are dedicated to preserving innocent babies and giving hope to young ladies who feel alone and abandoned,” the house's brochure says.

        Nikki Pergram, 16, the house's first resident, gives a simple explanation telling why she ended up there: “My family couldn't support me and a baby financially.” Her Middletown family lacked health insurance, and Ms. Pergram, who is 7 months pregnant, has been staying at the house since the end of May.

        “When I first came here, I felt real alone,” she said Wednesday. “But after my second day, I felt good about being here. All of the people wanting to help you all of the time, it's just overwhelming.”

        The father of her unborn child visits her at the house and attends church with her, she said.

        Ms. Pergram offered some words of advice to other young women who are pregnant and lack financial resources: “Don't give up your faith in the world, because there are people out there who will help you.”

       

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