NORWICH — Aunt Mary's House (AMH) is a nonprofit organization, providing love, security and an independent living space for women in crisis. The program at AMH helps women gain self-esteem while transitioning to a better life and affordable housing.

AMH Board President Jen Westervelt said it has been a full year with many exciting events, including filling the home to full capacity and hiring a new Executive Director.

“So far we have supported five women, two babies and one toddler,” said Westervelt. 

“We officially opened the end of January with an open house,” she said. “Then, in May, we had our first guest move in. She dedicated herself to the program and successfully graduated in October.”

Westervelt said she is doing well, living in a local apartment with her newborn and fiance. The connections she made and skills learned during her stay will be with her forever.

“We want to help support aspirations for a natural career path so sometimes a job may be transitory as it will be the first step to build toward their future career of some other kind,” Westervelt said.

She said it’s important to note there are individualized plans for each of their guests.

They have standard expectations and those are shared with all guests. During weekly goal setting meetings, progress is monitored and next action steps are identified. So not all are going to have the same action steps that need to be taken.

“It takes time, this is important work,” Westervelt continued, “We have had guests come to us from a variety of certain circumstances where pregnant women may be living in a car, a tent, couch surfing, or living in a domestic violence type situation.”

She said soon after the first guest graduated, they jumped to a full house with four moms and a new baby and toddler. In November they welcomed AMH Executive Director, Kisten Giglio.

“Kisten is very strong in her ability to work with at risk populations and that was something that was very evident to our board,” said Westervelt. “And it is continuing to be a huge benefit because the premise of AMH is to help people in a crisis situation, by definition, at risk.

“So it really makes sense that she could help us spearhead this vital work so we can help people move from being at risk and in crisis to being self sufficient and safe and providing for a future that is different for their child than they have experienced up to this point,” Westervelt added.  

With over 30 years of experience in the education field and a strong commitment to community, Giglio felt this was her calling.

Giglio said she started working full time for AMH at the beginning of December and said it’s been a true joy and a blessing.

“Our home is especially joyful this month as we welcomed new little ones and celebrate the growth of the young families entrusted to our care,” she said.

She noted each guest brings a story filled with courage and promise and watching their journeys unfold is a reminder of why their work is so important.

“Our guests love family meals,” said Giglio. “It gives them a chance to meet others and sit down together.”

“Around Thanksgiving, we received a blessing basket from the Parker Walsh Keller Williams team and a turkey donation from SUNY Morrisville,” she said. “I cooked it up and asked the guests if they would like a private Thanksgiving dinner or would they like to invite some volunteers.”

“About 24 hours later, we had 12 people at the table and they loved it,” she added. “Some guests have never cooked a meal, and so with the Thanksgiving dinner, everyone joined in and cooked something.”

“And we’re super excited that everybody has a job,” Giglio continued. “CDO Workforce and The Place helped our guests find employment.”

She said one their goals at AMH is to help each guest gain financial freedom and be able to have a place on their own and operate independently.

The volunteer program continues to grow with orientation classes that provide potential volunteers the opportunity to learn all about what it takes to support AMH women.

Volunteers provide safe, friendly care for the babies and help with fundraising and assisting at fundraising events, transportation, landscaping, mentoring, assisting with meals, community outreach, and social media.

Giglio mentioned they have 22 active volunteers and 11 in process, and are always seeking additional volunteers. She said there is an application process and thorough vetting with layered background checks. 

One volunteer said she enjoyed helping out by sorting through clothing and rearranging one of the guests rooms. She said she loved watching the confidence in moms grow right in front of her.

“Lately these application processes have also become vital for child care and transportation,” Giglio said. “We take our vetting process seriously and will have future classes for volunteer opportunities.

“We’ll also be on-boarding a Case/House Manager in 2026 to take care of the day to day needs at the home. They will assume the weekly meetings and goal settings.

She said the duties assumed by the case manager will leave her with more time to dedicate toward working with donators, offering county presentations, on-boarding volunteers, working with new foundations, running trainings, and more.

She said they also just hired a grant writer and will collaborate to continue to seek funding.

“We’re really excited because of the financial support, we’re able to do all of this,” she added.

Giglio said this is the first Christmas for AMH and the team is so excited to have mommas and babies in the house to celebrate.

She said December brought many blessings with donations pouring in. They’ve received a Christmas tree, decorations, kitchen ware, clothing, diapers, groceries, toys, a play kitchen, and so much more.

Westervelt explained AMH is privately supported with donations from individuals, businesses, organizations, churches, and fund raisers.

She said it must continue this way because the program is dependent on the AMH admission team to decide who is the best fit through a rigorous interview process.

The interview process allows a smooth operation with no hoops to jump through like other government funded agencies would have.

Westervelt added, their mission is to provide resources, opportunity, and care to help mothers achieve lasting independence.

AMH has grown into a thriving home for women in crisis and babies, thanks to the many community members, volunteers and organizations that have given their time and energy, gifts and support. 

Special thanks go to Sidney Federal Credit Union for supporting the recent volunteer orientation with a Notary, Norwich YMCA for recently donating a spaghetti, corn and bread dinner, and Norwich Copies plus for setting up an Angel Tree to benefit AMH. 

For AMH Christmas gift ideas, visit their Amazon page at https://a.co/90prUNS or to contribute by offering an end of the year gift, visit the online Zeffy link at their website at www.auntmaryshouse.net.

To volunteer or to learn more, visit AMH website at gttps://auntmaryhouse.net/volunteer/ or visit Aunt Mary's House Facebook page.