NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A home for pregnant college students will open in the fall.
It’s called Ella’s House.
"Feels surreal almost to have this space and have a house,” Co-founder Elise Jenkins said. “I’m so excited for women to be able to stay here, for women to be able to kind of experience that close-knit community that I didn’t have when I was in college."
Jenkins started the non-profit because it hits close to home.
"I found out very unexpectedly, as it normally goes, that I was pregnant my senior year of college,” Jenkins said.
While she finished at Auburn University, she stayed home in Nashville to be near family. That's when she realized there was a lack of community resources to help.
"We know that a lot of women who are in that position and find themselves pregnant in college either have the roommates that are, you know, going out, staying out late at night partying, or some of them have been kicked off their financial plans,” Jenkins said, “They’ve maybe been separated from their family’s financial support."
She hopes Ella's House will fill in that gap. Their first home has a capacity for 4 students, but with Roe v. Wade being overturned, she hopes to expand in the future.
"We are not politically or religiously affiliated, so our mission has always been to serve these women who are trying to complete their degrees and have their baby," Jenkins said.
Expecting moms who don't participate in the residential program can still go to family dinners and community events at Ella's House. They’re still accepting applications from pregnant students online.
If you want to volunteer, they're looking for more people to help out too.
