A light in the dark Woman turns family home into center for pregnant girls

By Rosanne Bowman

LIMA — When Julianne Frankhouser inherited her family's 100-year-old home, her first thought was not starting a home for pregnant teens.

“I wasn't sure what to do with it,” she said, “so I started praying, and God gave me the idea for Guiding Light. That was around April 2009.”

In the fall of the same year, she introduced the city of Lima to the idea and found out that there was a lot of red tape to go through, including architect plans, before work could even start.

“We waited all of 2010 for the architect plans,” Frankhouser said.

Frankhouser, who has four children of her own, ages 13 to 4, is a nurse at St. Rita's Medical Center. However, she has always had a heart for teen mothers, so for her, the obstacles have been worth it.

“I was a teen mom,” she explained. “So, I know the struggles.”

Frankhouser, after doing some research, found that there was also a need in Allen County. The county is eighth in the state for teen pregnancies, with one in three teens going on to have a second child within 24 months of the first.

This is why Frankhouser's main goals are to decrease repeat pregnancies and long-term government dependence by giving the girls practical hands-on training in taking care of themselves and their children.

However, going from the idea of Guiding Light to the reality is a work in progress. The home, located at 590 S. Main St., was completely gutted. Frankhouser and her husband, Ty, who has primarily been involved with the construction work, have been working on rebuilding it this year. They are currently working on the electrical system in the house and hope to have the drywall done by the end of the summer.

“I have to give the glory to God because every need that I prayed about,” she said, “God has given me the answers despite my own ignorance.”

Guiding Light has had a few fundraisers, but the majority of the labor and materials have been donated. Frankhouser hopes to have the home completed and open for residents by spring 2012.

Frankhouser, along with her advisory board of five, meet monthly to look over their progress and plan for the future. They have already set up some guidelines, many of which are required by the state for an organization such as theirs.

Girls who enter the home will be allowed to live there free of charge. The home is open to girls ages 13 to 19 who are at any point in their first pregnancy. The girl also has to have parental permission to be there.

While they're there, the girls will be encouraged to work to save for the future.

“We won't make them work,” Frankhouser said. “It will be mandatory that they go to school, attend support group, and attend church and daily devotional time, but if they can fit in working with their schedule, we'll encourage them to do that.”

Frankhouser added the girls will also be required to participate in the daily upkeep of the home and will have limited phone and television privileges.

“We want to be able to give them visiting and down time but with guidelines and supervision,” she said. “We don't want to keep them on lockdown — that isn't what this is about.”

Due to Ohio law, once a girl has had her baby, she will no longer be allowed to live at Guiding Light, making it very important that the girl and staff begin working on an alternative home plan as soon as she arrives.

“One of our goals is to open a second home for after care,” she said. “Once this home is finished, we will start looking into that.”

Frankhouser hopes to also work with area agencies and organizations to plug the girls into the resources that are available for them.

“There are several organizations that help teen mothers in our area,” she explained. “We want them to access community places like Heartbeat and St. Rita's.”

Things are progressing at Guiding Light. Saturday, the windows will be installed by All Service Glass. The wives and family members of those working will provide lunch. On June 11, the organization will have a golf fundraiser at Springbrook Golf Course. Frankhouser hopes these events will get the community interested in Guiding Light and their mission.

Meanwhile, Frankhouser is not stressing about the work that needs to be done this year.

“God gives me the strength,” she said. “The verse, ‘I can do all things through Christ' keeps coming up for me, and He has done that for me.”

If you have a story idea or an item you feel the community would like to know about for the Religion section, please contact Rosanne Bowman at bbowman3@woh.rr.com or 419-331-3958.