DALLAS (KDAF) — We are passionate about the community we cover in Dallas-Fort Worth on Inside DFW and we are taking a look at a nonprofit which provides a safe, welcoming community for pregnant women in need, In My Shoes.

We got the chance to chat with executive director Maria Puccini to learn more about providing a maternity home for pregnant women who need shelter, comfort, and support.

What makes In My Shoes different from other housing organizations?

We are a home, not a shelter; we provide a dignified living environment for women that is safe for them to bring their children into. We also have an emphasis on restoring the woman: we recognize she has had many instances of past trauma, and we seek to heal that with a committed community, opportunities like individual and group therapy, and classes on healthy relationships, pregnancy, and parenting through partners Hope Cottage, Abide Women’s Services, and Our Friends Place.

What does it mean to have a committed community?

So first and foremost is the housing. Also, importantly, is what we call our committed community, we have women who are living in the home along with them, that are providing support, from helping them get set up with social services, to going with them to the hospital, when they give birth. And then in addition to that, we provide classes, different life skills, classes, pregnancy, parenting classes, and financial literacy classes, and then each of our moms has the opportunity for individual and group counseling every week that they’re there to help with that restoring and healing of just whatever they’ve been going through.

In My Shoes has a trivia night fundraiser coming up on March 4 at 7 p.m. at the Frontiers of Flight Museum so if you’re interested in getting involved by donating, or maybe showing up at the fundraiser, click here to learn more.