Our History

Recently, Susan Hoff was involved at her church in a small faith-sharing group that helped unwed pregnant women. In an effort for the Group to put their faith intoaction, they learned of a woman in her early 20s who was living with her boyfriend when she got pregnant. The boyfriend didn’t want anything to do with the baby, and the woman’s father told her he’d allow her, but not the baby, to move back in with him. He offered to pay for an abortion.

We never did hear back from that woman and Mrs. Hoff never forgot about her. The group feared the un-named woman probably ended up having an abortion, even though that’s not what she really wanted.

In-depth research shows the need for a maternity home in the area because such a facility is non existent for women in the Metro East. Hoff found out that the woman’s situation was not unusual. Employees at other women’s shelters had similar stories.

The comon theme heard from St. Louis shelters and Pregency Recource Centers throughout Illinois was they have clients who are abortion-minded, and the primary reason is they don’t have a place to live.

She settled on the name Fontebella in 2004 during a trip to Italy with a group of people from their church and their pastor. The interpretation of Fontebella means “beautiful source of life”. Fontebella has been established as a 501c3 charity, but Susan has been reluctant to raise money until a location for the maternity home can be finalized.