Aside from donor designated donations from the United Way, Milagro House is operated without government or agency funding of any kind. The majority of our funding comes from the individuals and families who have made it their business to see that the homeless women and children of Lancaster have, at least, a level playing field.

Milagro House applies for and receives grants from local foundations and corporations. Although we receive substantial financial support from nearly fifty churches, we are aligned with no religion or sect. We offer all of our services to any woman, regardless of the words or phrases she uses to identify herself and her children.

To date, the Lancaster community has been able to provide us with everything we need, from the furniture in our houses to every penny we use to pay our bills and salaries. We are proud that despite the fact that we've grown to five times our original size, our annual operating budget is still less than $480,000. Despite a constant struggle to make ends meet, we are proud to be part of a community that provides our families with so much.

Why Support Milagro House

Our program is long-term (one to two years or more) allowing enough time for a woman to make permanent changes in her life and in the way she deals with her children.

We recognize the women who come to Milagro House as victims of their own faulty thinking and we treat them with respect and love, much as we would treat members of our own families.

We have found that it is a best practice to develop each woman's program to meet her specials needs as well as the needs of her children.

Rather than encourage our residents to remain dependent upon government subsidies once they have completed our program, we encourage them to make the best use of government assistance while they are living at Milagro House and to become self-sufficient before they leave our program.

We have learned that education is the true key to escaping a life of poverty and dependence. Within the first three months of her stay, each Milagro House resident must enroll in a program meant to further her education, whether she is in GED or ESL classes, in college, nursing school or a vocational/technology program. She may then stay at Milagro House until she has completed her studies.

We are successful because our programs are based on the same principals a good family is based on: love, respect, support, encouragement and the understanding that the quality of your life is the result of the choices you make and the consequences those choices bring.

Many of our children’s short lives have been very traumatic. We try to replace those memories with as many happy times as possible. Their lives become stable when they come to Milagro House. They get up, have breakfast with their families, go to school or daycare, come home, have dinner at the dining room table, and lay their heads down in the same bed every night. A routine as simple as this may be taken for granted by most, but to our kids this is everything. We believe in giving the kids the chance to be normal and secure in who they are. We work everyday to raise their self esteem.