San Francisco nonprofit helping homeless pregnant women looks to expand
SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco woman who has spent more than 30 years getting homeless pregnant women and their families on their feet is embarking on a major expansion.
One might say Martha Ryan is about to give birth to something new in an old warehouse. KPIX first met the nurse practitioner in 2005.
Ryan was giving unsheltered expectant mothers and their families prenatal care, housing, job training, and support for mental health and substance abuse. Her nonprofit organization Homeless Prenatal Program was helping about 2,400 families a year.
Today, the program has grown to serve 3,500 families a year, providing everything from free weekly bags of groceries and baby essentials to transitional housing for homeless moms.
To keep up with the growing need, Ryan is turning her attention to the warehouse her nonprofit bought next door.
"Our mission is to end the cycle of childhood poverty and family homeless. And this building is going to be able to show how to do that," said Ryan.
The $20 million development includes plans for job training and mental health services. Mercy Housing would create 74 units of affordable family housing.
The project doubles Homeless Prenatal's footprint and includes a child development center, providing support homeless families need to thrive.
"It is a dream come true," Ryan said.
She has witnessed many success stories over the decades, including one that's come full circle. Shelley Eskridge left her husband in the early 1990s and took her two young children with her.
"I was in a situation that I had to leave. And I had nowhere to go, I had no family," Eskridge said.
She says Homeless Prenatal supplied the deposit for housing, free furniture and more.
"I didn't know how to get assistance and they guided me through it, helped me in school, and helped me start my journey so that I could be a good Mom," Eskridge explained.
She has paid it forward, working to help families in crisis. So has her daughter, Shellena Eskridge.
In fact, Shellena Eskridge recently became Homeless Prenatal's new executive director, freeing Ryan to lead the expansion plans.
"Oh, I love Martha so much. And everything that she has built over the last 33 years. It means so much to know that my mother was part of this program," said the younger Eskridge.
"When people say you can't break homelessness or you cannot end homelessness and family homeless, I say that's not true. Because we've done it over and over and over again," added Ryan.
The Eskridge family is living proof that the nonprofit Ryan started back in 1989 is breaking the cycle of poverty. She remains as committed as ever to helping homeless families build new lives.
Ryan says $20 million is needed for the new building; so far, the project has raised $5.8 million. The hope is to break ground in April, and open in three years.
