It was horrible.
That’s what Heidi Howes said was on her mind about single parenthood when she and Lisa Woodward initially co-founded Motherful, a Columbus-based grassroots collective of single mothers.
“The whole process of having to do everything by yourself – it was never meant to be like this,” she said.
Co-directed by Howes and Woodward, Motherful is a registered nonprofit organization and collective that has grown to approximately 2,000 single mothers supporting one another in the Columbus area.
On July 27, Motherful purchased a four-building property that will serve as the organization’s first co-op community for single mothers.
Headquartered in Gahanna, the organization already offers several supportive services for single mothers. Motherful’s
goal has always been to establish a co-op living arrangement where single mothers can share living spaces and support one another in a much more involved way.
That vision finally began coming to life when 100 Noe Bixby Road went on the market.
Mothers supporting mothers
The property comprises four buildings – a main office for the community that will include guest housing upstairs, and three co-living residences to house a total of up to 10 families. Each of the three residential buildings contains six to seven bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms with shared living spaces, kitchens and laundry areas.
The unique shared-living structure would allow families to share childcare responsibilities and transportation, and even save on the cost of meals through bulk purchasing. Motherful’s housing co-director Amanda King estimates that residents could save 40%-60% on childcare through this arrangement.
“Maybe they don't need full-time day care or preschool all the time,” she said. “Maybe they need a friendly neighbor, somebody in the home that can watch the kiddo while they go and take another shift, or while an emergency comes up with another kiddo.”
Before the families move in, King said they will convene to establish their own house rules for self-governance.
“It would be resident-led, resident-governed, but we'll work with them along the way,” King said. “And then eventually, they'll take over the stewarding of the property and everything like that.”
A perfect match
Howes said the location, built in 1982, originally served as a convent for nuns before Maryhaven converted it into an extended-care program facility for women.
“I think it's really interesting that this was a sacred place for women who were choosing a different path, and then it was this healing space for mothers through Maryhaven,” Howes said. “And now, it’s going to be utilized for mothers to be able to support each other, so they don't have to mother alone.”
The team had to act fast to acquire the property, King said. They were asked to submit a letter of intent (LOI) within 24 hours of learning about the listing to compete with cash buyers. Howes and Woodward were at a conference in the United Kingdom at the time, so King was the only member of the team to view the property in person before making the offer.
“We trust each other really deeply. We work collectively. And so that's how we ended up here,” Howes said. “It was too perfect to pass up.”
Just the beginning
Renovations are already underway, and the Motherful team has big plans for interior improvements, not to mention a long waiting list of single mothers eager to take part in this opportunity.
The team hopes to begin moving families into the property in January, and Howes and Woodward have high hopes for what this community will become – and how many more like it they can create.
“We always wanted to have a place where matriarchs could live together and could practice that matriarchal way of mothering together,” Howes said. “And so, this is the beginning of what we hope to be hundreds of years of mothers defining themselves together and supporting each other.”
Reporter Kelly Tucker can be reached at ktucker@dispatch.com.
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with The Columbus Dispatch to profile those making our community a better place. Help us lift up inspiring stories of kindness by suggesting people, initiatives, or organizations to feature by emailing kindness@dispatch.com. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content. Learn more at Dispatch.com/Kindness.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Motherful campus brings a community of single mothers together
