Guiding Grace: A mission continues | New affiliation will allow for expanded programs, broader reach
An organization with three decades of service in Cape Coral continues to spread its wings and evolve.
Florida Executive Director for Guiding Grace Family Support Network Meghan DeLuca said February will mark 30 years in the Cape with a new nuance — an affiliation with another non-profit.
Guiding Grace Family Support Network acquired Thrive SWFL last year and expanded its aid to women experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, single dads and mothers, foster parents, caregivers, grandparents raising grandchildren, and families at every stage. DeLuca said circumstances can lead children to another guardian or caregiver.
Its programs began locally as a center for moms-to-be, a focus that will continue.
“I don’t feel our acquisition should end that, so to speak. There are pioneers and there are settlers. We were founded by a woman with incredible vision and heart for the city of Cape Coral and beyond,” DeLuca said. “We have had women come from all over the country. That heartbeat hasn’t changed. The foundation of the mission in which we were founded has not changed. It has expended and we are building upon it.”
Some history
The effort began when Lifeline Family Center opened in Cape Coral in 1996 to offer a positive alternative for a mom and a child with hope for the future.
DeLuca became involved in Lifeline Family Center in 2018 as a board member.
Her involvement came from her own experience.
At 16 she discovered she was pregnant. Scared, she went to a pregnancy resource center.
She hated the experience.
She also is a “chosen child, an adoptee.
“I had to do something with that life that was meaningful,” she said. “I kept my son. He is 30 years old today. He had a baby girl in July, the day after my birthday, he and his wife.”
The baby is her third grandchild.
“I searched for my face for my whole life. God has given me that in my three grandchildren — they have a strong resemblance in me. I found my face in all three of them,” DeLuca said.
Her passion to help others stems from that as a lot of children are conceived in pain and fear that are helped through the organization. She encourages those mothers to look in the eyes of that child and find their face.
“That child is worth fighting for and so are they. That is all it takes and it turns the whole tide — to believe they have value and worth — they are unstoppable,” DeLuca said.
To be effective long-term, programs must address the double need, mother and child, she said.
“There is this drumbeat of ‘save the baby, save the baby.’ To save the baby, we have to equip mom. Not save her, that is on her – she needs to feel equipped and empowered for the next steps,” she said.
The goal was to give mothers an opportunity to be self-supporting and a contributing member of society, to give clients a visualization for herself of what stability looks like and how to obtain that.
Lifeline Family Center walked alongside them toward that goal of self sufficiency for mother and child.
The center had a two-bedroom residential duplex. It was outgrown before it even opened.
The founder believed the community was willing to invest into something bigger, which took shape at the Southeast 5th Avenue property in 2006.
“It was built entirely on donations. There is no mortgage. When she built it, all different people within the community had hands in it,” DeLuca said. “It’s still in our community today. We retain that pride because this building is continuing in its use now beyond pregnant women, and single moms.”
Stage 2
In 2021, Lifeline Family Center pivoted to Thrive SWFL.
“That was a big moment,” DeLuca said, saying it was hard for women to live in a center. “As donors and supporters, we are the lifeline. Nobody wants to feel like they live at the end of the rope. It is a lifeline for them.”
The residential program had its challenges.
“It’s OK to come to a center to receive services. No one wants to live in a center. We knew we were limited by the four walls because we couldn’t help all the people who were desperately seeking help,” she said. “It’s a win for our residents. A win for us, so we could serve well.”
Residential programs include exit planning which includes a housing solution for the mom going forward.
“Our goal is not to institutionalize them,” DeLuca said.
During COVID, the organization took a pregnancy pause and revamped all of its programming to become modernized, which removed the two-year program requirement. She said some women need eight months of help instead of 24.
There was one woman who wanted to be a paramedic, something she never thought in a million years she could accomplish. She ended up graduating from the Public Service Academy and was able to relocate to Connecticut after being on property for only eight months.
“That is when we decided fluidity was critical,” DeLuca said. “They are coming in older and have acquired considerable debt. Now they are here for two years plus and that is not healthy either.”
With the availability of low income problematic, capacity was stuck — no new clients could be served.
“The programs we were providing had tremendous value, but we stopped becoming valuable,” DeLuca said. “We were seeing that if we have no next step for them, we can no longer provide a service because we can’t transition new moms in.”
Thrive SWFL opened four apartments in the back of its property that are designed to be transitional housing with a sliding monthly rent scale for women and children only. The transitional housing is offered for up to two years, so the mom can begin to save to move into a more permanent residence.
“They are paying anywhere from $500 to $1,000 for a two-bedroom, one bath apartment. It keeps it low, so they can funnel the rest of the dollars into savings. My goal for them would be to buy. With our housing navigation, we can work with them and Lee County, and different programs, and help them get connected to allow them to take the next step,” DeLuca said.
When the organization was re-branded it offered an “element of fun,” as well as a more relaxed community. She said it got people more excited about what they do and it resonated with the residents.
“It was a mindset. I live at Thrive. I am going to flourish and grow — and they did,” DeLuca said.
Although the residential center component has been abandoned, the apartment living will continue as mothers are thriving. She said their parenting skills are improving, resulting in positive changes in the children.
“They don’t have the pressure of having other people they don’t know pile upon them. It is beautiful to see. I am proud of that,” DeLuca said.
A shift was still needed. One that took a great deal of thought, and praying, as the acquisition was a huge decision. — how to move on without shuttering the past.
“The past matters. The history matters and everything that was built here,” DeLuca said. “It is now our responsibility to step up and carry the mantel and to build on what was begun. To breathe new life into it- new families and more families.”
Guiding Grace Family Support Network quickly began reconfiguring and adding to Thrive SWFL’s programs after last year’s acquisition,
“This expansion gives us the ability to serve nonresidential and come alongside them. There is not a lot of support for them to do that,” DeLuca said.
Programs include personalized case management, housing navigation, parenting classes from newborn care to teen years, counseling and recovery support groups, financial education, employment and career development support, and nutrition education.
The acquisition is such a beautiful thing because it has taken them to the next level and has enabled them to help many more, DeLuca said.
Often times the calls that come in are for obtaining long-term housing, employability, outfits to wear for interviews, and helping with resume writing.
“That is what we are doing now, honing in on that support,” she said. “It’s a totally different mindset with similar programming. They are coming here and leaving here with the tools and going back to their residence.”
Moving toward the future
The shift to help more than moms and their children came after a flight to Omaha to talk to the founder and executive director of Guiding Grace Family Support Network. More than 40 people were in that room — clients, their family and staff. Stories were shared, one from a young man who had barely spoken a word.
DeLuca said there was not a dry eye in the room as he pulled out three sheets of paper from his back pocket – his life story that involved him and his young daughter. She said he shared that he wanted to be better dad, so he fled where he was living and found Guiding Grace. The organization helped him find a job, housing and he is now working to pay fees to get his license back.
“It was so raw and so real. He was beaming. It was brave. I realized that if he came through our door, we wouldn’t have helped him. We would have referred him. We did not have programming to help him,” DeLuca said, adding that they had to “Do this. There is more that can be done.”
Now Guiding Grace in Cape Coral, they can help more individuals, she said.
The grand reopening of Guiding Grace Family Support Network will take place on Feb. 12, a few days before the actual founding date of Lifeline Family Center. The celebration also will include the launch of the first Giving Days, which DeLuca said is one of the most special things about Guiding Grace.
The Giving Days will be held on the second Thursday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. These days are open to any family in the community that needs a little extra support. Packages will be put together to meet their needs with items such as diapers, wipes, trash bags, laundry pods, children’s toys and clothing.
“We want to meet the needs that they have — that is possible through the generosity of our community,” DeLuca said.
The idea is once an individual attends the Giving Days, they will then be invited to learn more about the ongoing programs Guiding Grace offers.
DeLuca said it would be fantastic to have sponsors for Giving Days to offer such things as bagels and coffee.
Guiding Grace also has some strategic collaborations in the works, which should be signed, sealed and delivered in the next few months – a huge help to the community. She said with mental health lacking in the city and Lee County, some donors are fighting for help in the mental health component, as well.
“We want to be the center for people to go to for whatever it is they need,” she said.
Guiding Grace Family Support Network is at 907 SE 5th Ave. For more information visit guidinggracenetwork.org.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com