Maria Puccini (formerly Eichhold) knew that she wanted to start a maternity home for women in Dallas. Even though she didn’t know how she would accomplish her goal, she relocated to Dallas from Washington, D.C., at age 26 with several of her friends to start the project from the ground up.
Puccini and her friends knew hardly anyone in Dallas, and they didn’t own a property when they settled in the city. Twelve years later, the maternity home In My Shoes, founded by Puccini and her friends in West Dallas near Bishop Arts, houses homeless pregnant and postpartum women and their babies. As of December 2023, it has been home to 87 mothers and babies.
“Our mission is to provide a safe, welcoming community to women who are pregnant and homeless, or at risk of homelessness,” Puccini, the home’s executive director, said in an interview with Live Action News.
What They Do
There are currently five women living at the In My Shoes home, a large two-story building (a former convent) next to Mount St. Michael Catholic School. The home is not affiliated with the Catholic Church, but it is a Christ-centered organization that follows Catholic Social Teaching and the laws of the Church regarding abortion and contraception. The home has two female residential team members, who live on-site with the women. Also involved are some part-time staff, the leadership team — including Puccini and a board of directors, a group of professionals visit the home to offer classes and counseling to the women, and a number of volunteers and donors who assist with various aspects of the home.
The core values of In My Shoes are hospitality, faith & works, empowerment, wholeness, and authenticity.
Puccini explained, “We welcome women; we rely on God but also want to stay up-to-date on best practices. We want to meet [the women] without any judgment… The end goal is to restore and prepare women to be what God created them to be.”
Each woman is provided with her own room, food, and medical care. She is also assigned an advocate (mentor), a case manager, and a counselor. Additionally, mothers receive donations of diapers and clothing for their babies. There is an emphasis on community life at the home, and the women learn to contribute to the community with basic skills such as cooking and cleaning. All of the women come from unstable housing situations. Some of them come off the streets, and about 75% of the women are in recovery from a drug addiction of some sort, according to Puccini.
Some of the women learn basic life skills for the first time at In My Shoes. The program at the home provides additional education and offers the mothers free classes on topics ranging from parenting and lactation coaching to financial literacy, computer proficiency, and career mapping. In My Shoes partners with organizations including Texas Women’s Rehab, Catholic Charities, and Project Lorenzo to provide women with the quality care and instruction they may need.
Photo courtesy of In My Shoes
Lori’s Story
Some women who completed the In My Shoes program shared their stories of hope, healing, and success.
One of these women, Lori, was a drug addict who was incarcerated in 2020 when she was six months pregnant. She was entering her third trimester and hadn’t seen a doctor once. Lori had lost custody of her three other children due to addiction, which was her attempt to self-medicate to relieve trauma from a previous experience with violent crime.
“I was in jail for one month before I finally cried and begged enough to get bailed out, on a promise that I would go straight to rehab if I were to get out. I kept my promise, went to rehab, and stayed for 28 days. At this point I was seven months pregnant, I had no job, no money, no car, and no place to live, but I did have two months of sobriety under my belt. I learned from my counselor in rehab about a program called In My Shoes…. Little did I know how much those three words would change my life,” Lori said in a presentation.
Lori nervously called the number for the home just hoping for a roof over her head and her baby’s. She never imagined the love and support she would later receive.
“The very first day I was greeted with a care basket and was shown around the house. I saw the beautiful kitchen and pantry. Then I got settled into my own private, very nicely decorated room. I knew right then that I made a good decision in coming here, and I felt safe and confident to start preparing to become a mom again. One of my most meaningful memories I have is when I arrived home from the hospital. I had an amazing array of clothes, blankets, bottles, and socks all beautifully arranged in my room, to welcome me and my daughter, Cambree, home,” Lori said.
The new mother was grateful for all the services In My Shoes offers, but the community of the house changed her life the most. One of her favorite weekly events at the house is the community dinner, when the moms, staff, and babies gather together for a meal.
“Looking back now, it helped bring back that sense of family and community that I had been missing for so long,” she said.
In My Shoes staff and staff partners helped Lori get back on her feet in both personal and professional ways.
Lori said:
Not only did IMS help me with Cambree, but they also advocated for me to be able to get visitation back with my son, Gabriel, who was five at the time. I also was offered probation instead of jail time after the DA heard of my progress at IMS. In My Shoes staff was able to help me find an affordable and safe apartment near my job, daughter’s daycare, and family after I moved out. In addition, a volunteer at In My Shoes, Ms. Susana, connected me with a job opportunity close by. I started in an entry level position and now I am the General Manager at Lucid Private Offices location.
I just paid off my car a year early and am now working towards buying my first home. I have a very close relationship with my family and other children. Also, Cambree is now almost three years old and thriving in her Montessori school. These changes in my life are only possible because of In My Shoes and the people who donate.
Taylor’s Story
Another woman named Taylor shared her story after completing the program at In My Shoes.
“My life before In My Shoes was very dark and lonely. I was in and out of addiction from the age of 12 until I was 21. I never knew love or belonging – I never knew my dad, and my mom was always in and out of prison. At one of my low points, I went to Federal Prison for 18 months. When I got out, I had nowhere else to go, so I went home to the same old things… crime and drugs. I got pregnant but was still using, so my probation required me to attend inpatient rehab in San Antonio. I completed 96 days of that program, and when I was done, I knew I could not go back home. I found In My Shoes online and applied, by the grace of God I was accepted,” Taylor said.
Taylor emphasized the love she was shown at In My Shoes. “I had lived in shared community before, like in rehab and prison. But this was different. In My Shoes is a home full of love and passion. I had inherited a forever family.”
While living at In My Shoes, Taylor restored her relationship with herself and others as she began to understand her worth and dignity. She gave birth to her baby girl, Novaleigh, while living at the home.
“I brought my baby girl, Novaleigh, home to a safe, stable environment where she had everything she needed and more. My daughter and I experienced genuine love – agape kind of love.”
Taylor now supports herself and her daughter while attending college.
“Today I am three years clean and sober. I am over halfway finished with my associate degree, and I bought a car. While at In My Shoes, I learned about a non-profit coffee house that hires previously incarcerated women, and have been employed there for two years,” Taylor said.
Photo courtesy of In My Shoes
Meeting Women Where They Are
Speaking about the work of In My Shoes and how it relates to the pro-life movement, Puccini said she believes that maternity homes are the most important aspect of the movement because they set both mother and child up for success, and future generations after that. None of the women who have stayed at In My Shoes has aborted her child, which means the home has saved 87 lives to date.
Puccini encourages people to meet the woman facing a difficult pregnancy and accompany the woman during her experience.
“If you want to understand pro-life work, you need to understand the woman who’s facing this difficult decision, so if you haven’t had an opportunity to meet a woman face-to-face, go and have that relationship with her,” she said.
In My Shoes relies on funds and prayers to keep going, as well as the work of generous volunteers, and these are always greatly appreciated. The greatest need of the organization, however, is currently the need for residential staff members.
There are currently two residential staff members, and In My Shoes is looking to hire three more. Puccini estimates that In My Shoes has had up to a 150% increase in the number of women calling the home since 2021, and they would like to fill the house and eventually open other homes.
Applications for the Live-In Residential Core Team Position and the Summer Community Assistant Position are on this webpage.
