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The
Orchard House: a Local REALTOR’S® Hope for Young Women in Need August 26, 2002 Two years ago, a young, successful woman had an inspiration; to help young, troubled women pursue a new chance at life. She was concerned about the lives of troubled teens, who have been confronted with suicide, abuse, addictions, eating disorders, and unplanned pregnancy. Once, being in the same position herself, she knew how hard it was to not have a support system to turn to. Many of these troubled girls live without loving families and have a difficult time finding a decent place to sleep, a healthy meal and adequate prenatal healthcare. She believed that if there was a place that would offer unconditional love and support, the young women would find recovery, and/or, complete their pregnancies in a healthy environment. With nearly 1 million teen pregnancies annually, the home would offer teens faced with an unplanned pregnancies a choice; for the young mothers to place their children up for adoption, or to become responsible by developing life skills, including the tools of good parenting, as well as encourage the troubled girls to get back on their feet and start a new life. The only requirement of the girls entering the program is to “be willing to come to the house with a true desire to change and set a new course for their lives.”
“The Orchard House will offer young women a place to stay free of charge, where they can make the decision to offer life to their baby,” Moritz explained. “There are thousands of families that are unable to conceive and desire to open their hearts and homes to a child. The Orchard House will coordinate with a licensed adoption agency to help the girls with their decisions regarding their baby. If the girl decides to offer the baby to a loving family for adoption, she will be involved in the process and will get to make the final decision regarding the adoptive family. After the adoption, the girl will follow up with at least six weeks of grief and loss counseling to ensure her stable reentry into the community.” Many of the girls have never held a baby, let alone fed, clothed, or changed the diaper of a baby. Therefore the girls that decide to parent their babies will go through a series of parenting classes while at the house. Upon delivery, the mother and baby will be placed with a local family for the first six months. This family will be dedicated to assisting the mother and her baby in getting off to a healthy and happy life,” states Moritz. Through constant prayer and commitment, the Orchard house will be a success. The facility that Moritz has chosen will house six girls free of charge with plans to build a larger facility to house up to 24 girls at any given time. The girls must commit to staying at the house a minimum of six months or until the birth of the baby for those girls deciding to parent. The girls will learn responsibility and accountability at the house by cooking, cleaning, planning, and ongoing life skills training, such as budgeting, resume writing, job interviewing, and retention skills more to ensure the best possible future for the girls after leaving the home. “We have so many area residents and businesses that have been blessed by the growth in the Triangle in the past decade. Our most important goal right now is to get the word out there so we can gather together the tremendous resources that the Triangle area and its residents have to offer,” Moritz states. “Besides the immediate need of financial support to obtain the house and land that the organization is currently planning to purchase, we are also looking for businesses and individuals that are committed to ongoing/regular support not only financially, but through the resources that the business or individuals may have. For example, Capital Creations, Gourmet Pizza of Raleigh has committed to providing pizza dinners for the house as needed.” Currently, the Orchard House has a 100 plus volunteer base including licensed contractors, educators, business developers, volunteer crisis pregnancy counselors, nutritionists, nurses, as well as administrative help. Please visit The Orchard House website www.TheOrchardHouse.org to learn more about or to become involved with this charitable organization. If you, or someone you know, would like to make a financial donation, volunteer time, assist in the building of the house, or work with the girls, please contact Sheri Moritz; Day: 919-954-9552, Evenings: 919-271-7653, or Fax: 919-954-9553. You may also write Sheri or mail donations to: The Orchard House Inc. 5309 Graymar Ct. Raleigh, NC 27616. Since the girls that will live at the house may come in with little or no belongings, you may be able to assist with some of the following items: Clothing (all sizes for girls 13-26 as well as maternity clothes), Health & Beauty Aids (shampoo, conditioner, Ibuprofen tablets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and feminine products), Leisure items (pens, pencils, stationary, stamps, CD/DVD/Video Cassettes, restaurant & gift certificates to places such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, and grocery stores), Household items (paper towels, napkins, paper plates, cleaning supplies, and canned food). The Raleigh Regional Association
of REALTORS is always looking for interesting and inspiring REALTOR-related
stories. If you, or someone you know, have a story you would like to share,
please contact Michelle Anysz at 654-5414 or michellea@rrar.com
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Sheri
Moritz, REALTOR®, and Broker-in-charge of Concept 2000 Realty, is that extraordinary
woman, and The OrchardHouse is the result of her eagerness to help young
women in need. Thanks to Sheri’s dedication, The Orchard House will be open
in 2003 to initially serve young women aged 13-26 faced with unplanned pregnancies.
Future plans include expanding the campus to offer support for girls faced with
drug abuse, addictions, eating disorders, depression, and suicidal tendencies,
as well as those struggling from past physical or sexual abuse.
