With three children of their own, Liz and Bill Hough of St. Charles still had a passion and interest for helping others in need — especially children.
At one time, Liz worked on the west side of Chicago as a social worker where she “grew a hunger for helping low-income individuals, orphans and the homeless.”
First, the couple began to foster children in their home. Receiving calls to mentor pregnant teenagers, the Hough family got matched with a pregnant teen.
“We instantly hit it off,” Hough added.
Soon the mother-to-be moved in with the family.
More Top Picks Best Soft Coolers
After giving birth to a boy, Jayden, the mother left him with the Houghs who adopted him, “knowing we would love and care for this little, baby boy,” she added. “It was bittersweet, but we were privileged to adopt Jayden.”
A year after Jayden was born, Hough said, “We had a large uptick in the number of phone calls looking to place pregnant teens.”
“I realized that there was nowhere else for these pregnant teens to go,” Hough added.
Single moms who are trying to better themselves and take care of their babies often face insurmountable stumbling blocks, she said.
In 2010, Hough founded Beautiful U Ministries, a nonprofit aimed at providing at-risk pregnant teens with a family environment through satellite homes.
The group operates five satellite homes where pregnant moms experience life as a family, something that pregnant moms may not have ever experienced themselves.
It costs about $300 a month to house a mother in a satellite home, Hough said.
“Each year, the ministry takes in between eight and 10 pregnant moms in five satellite homes,” she said.
For its first three years in existence, the ministry was funded by private donations.
In 2013, the nonprofit opened a resale shop named Beautiful U Resale in part to raise money, but also to give its young moms an opportunity to work in the shop to gain job skills and experience.
Located in downtown Elburn at 112 N. Main St., the resale shop sells antiques, clothing, furniture, housewares, books, toys and seasonal decor.
About 40 volunteers rotate through working shifts at the shop including Amy Schmidt who first became involved with the organization shopping in the store for items for her home daycare.
Learning more about the organization and what it does in the community, Schmidt began volunteering for the organization in 2013.
Now Schmidt, who volunteers every other Saturday, said she does it because the organization is focused on helping the women find success.
Once a young mother herself, she said, “We are not just focusing on helping them to the end of their pregnancy. The new moms are actively learning parenting skills and life skills such as budgeting and cooking.”
Serving as a host for a satellite home, Schmidt said, there are many things the clients need to learn.
“The things we take for granted and think everyone knows how to do is really not true. People can make it to 26 years old and have no idea how to preheat an oven,” she said.
To meet the increased demand for additional housing, in the last year the group has begun to also raise money for a transitional living center.
“The need is incredible. I average two to three calls per week” to place young pregnant moms, Hough said.
Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.