How Will The Heartbeat House Operate?

The Heartbeat House is a small residential maternity home being developed by Heartbeat of Toledo for adult pregnant women and mothers with infants who are experiencing unsafe, unstable, or temporary housing.

The purpose is to provide more than an address. Residents will have a safe home environment, consistent support, clear household expectations, and help connecting with the healthcare, parenting, employment, education, financial, and housing resources needed to build greater long-term stability.

The Heartbeat House will serve no more than two adult mothers and their infant children at one time. Each mother and baby will have a private sleeping room.

The residents will share the kitchen, bathroom, living areas, laundry, meals, household routines, and common responsibilities. The third bedroom will be used as a nursery, playroom, and family-resource space rather than as a third resident bedroom.

Eligibility, screening, referrals, safety considerations, and the applicant’s ability to participate in the residential model will all be considered before admission.

The public program model does not place one fixed timeline on every mother. Each resident’s participation will be individualized according to her needs, goals, progress, safety, family circumstances, and transition plan.

Residents will work with staff on defined goals and will participate in regular reviews. The purpose is to provide enough stability for meaningful progress while continuing to plan for safe, sustainable housing after the program.

The home is intended to operate like a structured shared household rather than an institution. Residents will be expected to participate in household routines, shared chores, parenting responsibilities, appointments, educational activities, and progress toward their individual goals.

Written expectations will address visitors, quiet hours, safety, substance-free living, respect for neighbors, shared spaces, infant care, and personal accountability. Heartbeat staff will provide support without removing each resident’s responsibility to make decisions and build independent living skills.

No. The Heartbeat House is a small residential home with structured support. It is not a hospital, medical-treatment facility, addiction-treatment program, hotel, boarding house, emergency shelter, or licensed childcare center.

Heartbeat staff will help residents navigate outside services, but clinical care will remain with qualified healthcare and community providers. Routine overnight staffing is not currently planned as part of the residential model.

Heartbeat already supports women and families through pregnancy services, parenting education, material assistance, referrals, and ongoing encouragement. The housing gap is the major need those services cannot solve on their own.

The Heartbeat House extends Heartbeat’s existing continuum of care by adding a stable residential option for a small number of mothers who need more time, structure, and support than emergency assistance alone can provide.

Housing instability is a serious concern for pregnant women and mothers with infants. It can disrupt healthcare, recovery after birth, employment, education, family routines, and the ability to plan safely for the future.

The Heartbeat House is intended to complement, not compete with, Toledo’s existing shelters and housing organizations. Its role is intentionally narrow: a small, pregnancy- and early-parenting-focused residence connected to Heartbeat’s existing support programs.

As of August 2026, renovation is actively underway at the donated residence. Interior demolition and rear-porch removal have been completed, and electrical, masonry, roofing, window, HVAC, kitchen, bathroom, flooring, and interior work are being coordinated through the project’s contractor and trade partners.

The project has received substantial community support, including donated or discounted windows, HVAC equipment, water-heater work, appliances, furniture, security equipment, labor, construction materials, and professional services.

The current goal is to complete renovation and resident-readiness work around December 2026. That remains a planning goal rather than a guaranteed opening date.

A safe home is essential, but housing alone is not the complete program. The Life Coach or House Manager will help residents establish routines, work through challenges, document goals, connect with services, complete parenting and life-skills work, and prepare for long-term housing stability.

Heartbeat is still finalizing whether the strongest staffing model is one primary full-time employee, shared part-time coverage, or another combination that provides dependable continuity and backup coverage.

Training requirements are expected to include:

• Trauma-informed support and de-escalation
• Professional boundaries and resident confidentiality
• Mandated reporting and incident documentation
• Infant safe sleep and basic child-safety practices
• CPR and first aid
• Emergency and evacuation procedures
• BrightCourse and parenting-education resources
• Community referrals and appropriate service coordination

Volunteers who interact directly with residents or children will be screened and trained according to the nature of their role. One-time property or service-day volunteers will still complete appropriate waivers and follow on-site supervision requirements.

The home is being prepared with appropriate locks, lighting, controlled access, smoke and heat detection, alarm monitoring, and video coverage in approved common or exterior areas. Cameras will not be placed in bedrooms or bathrooms.

The current Habitec proposal includes monitored security, fire detection, and video services. The final configuration will be coordinated with insurance, privacy policies, and applicable occupancy and inspection requirements.

Heartbeat is also developing written policies for visitors, emergencies, incidents, confidentiality, staff boundaries, volunteers, resident property, and the handling of sensitive information.

The Heartbeat House is designed to function quietly as a small residential household. It will not provide public walk-in services, rent separate apartments, or create frequent short-term resident turnover.

House expectations will address visitors, parking, noise, property maintenance, safety, and respect for neighbors. Heartbeat will maintain a contact process for legitimate neighborhood or City concerns.

The current working plan targets approximately $100,000 in annual operating costs. The public-facing budget has been simplified into the major categories below:

This remains a working budget. Individual lines may shift as the final staffing model, occupied-phase insurance, monitoring, utilities, and service agreements are completed, but the overall planning target remains approximately $100,000.

Heartbeat tracks renovation, startup, and annual operations separately so donors can understand which phase their gift supports.

• The current general remodeling agreement totals $60,950.
• The discounted HVAC, water-heater, and second-floor heat-run package results in approximately $2,950 in Heartbeat cost after major donated and discounted contributions.
• The current security, fire, and video proposal totals $3,310 upfront, with $92 per month in monitoring and video services.

These documented costs do not necessarily represent the final move-in-ready total. Attic work, hidden conditions, final furnishings, inspections, and other closeout needs may change the final figure.

This is a small, high-support residential pilot rather than a large congregate facility. The primary cost is not simply the number of bedrooms. It is maintaining safe housing, dependable staffing, insurance, utilities, food, supplies, safety systems, transportation support, maintenance, and consistent resident guidance throughout the year.

The small scale is intentional. It allows Heartbeat to begin responsibly, maintain a calm household, learn from the first year, and avoid expanding faster than staffing, funding, and oversight can support.

Heartbeat has established a dedicated checking account for The Heartbeat House and is tracking project-related income and expenses separately within its financial systems.

Renovation, startup, and operating budgets are maintained as distinct categories. Grants and donor gifts are assigned to defined expenses, and Heartbeat will avoid charging the same cost to more than one funding source.

Quotes, invoices, contracts, donated-value documentation, and grant-reporting requirements will be maintained for board, finance, audit, insurance, and donor-accountability purposes.

Depending on the designation and timing of the gift, donor support may help fund:

• Renovation and resident-readiness work
• Furniture, cribs, linens, kitchen items, and household setup
• The Life Coach/House Manager and related training
• Food, diapers, wipes, infant supplies, and cleaning products
• Utilities, insurance, security monitoring, and maintenance
• Transportation and individualized resident-support needs
• Program evaluation, reporting, and responsible administration

Donors who wish to discuss a particular gift, business partnership, donated service, or in-kind contribution are encouraged to contact Heartbeat before making the commitment.

Heartbeat plans to measure both program activity and resident progress. Depending on the resident’s individualized goals, tracking may include:

• Completion of an individualized stability plan
• Connection to prenatal or postpartum care
• Connection of infants to pediatric or well-child care
• Safe-sleep, parenting, and infant-wellness education
• Progress on benefits, documentation, budgeting, and transportation
• Employment or educational progress when appropriate
• Development of a documented permanent-housing transition plan
• Exit assessment and appropriate follow-up after departure

The program should be evaluated honestly. Heartbeat will use the first year to assess staffing, resident policies, capacity, costs, outcomes, and any changes required before considering future growth.

The home will not exceed its approved two-family capacity. Admissions will depend on available space, resident fit, safety, program readiness, and the ability to meet the applicant’s needs responsibly.

Heartbeat will continue using community referrals and existing support programs for women who cannot be admitted. The goal is to operate two placements well rather than promise a level of capacity the home cannot safely provide.

The residence itself is designed for mothers and infants. However, Heartbeat’s broader programs already serve mothers, fathers, partners, and family-support figures through parenting education, material assistance, and referrals.

Visitor and family-engagement policies will be developed with resident safety, infant wellbeing, confidentiality, household stability, and individual circumstances in mind.

Community partners may help through financial gifts, professional services, construction materials, furniture, food, baby supplies, household items, recurring sponsorships, supply drives, volunteer service, or employment and educational connections for residents.

Adult volunteers may assist with approved meals, household supplies, administration, life-skills activities, transportation, yard work, or mentoring after completing the screening and training appropriate to their role.

High school students may be able to participate in supervised service days focused on landscaping, donation sorting, supply kits, pantry organization, seasonal projects, and other work that protects resident privacy.

View the current business and renovation partners on The Heartbeat House project page .

Donors may make a one-time or recurring online gift through the secure donation form on The Heartbeat House project page .

Checks may be made payable to:
Heartbeat of Toledo
3950 Sunforest Ct., Suite 104
Toledo, OH 43623

Suggested memo line: The Heartbeat House

Heartbeat of Toledo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donors will receive appropriate written acknowledgment and should consult their own tax advisor regarding the treatment of a charitable gift.

Donors, businesses, churches, and community partners are welcome to ask questions before making a commitment.

Email Joe Restivo or Gina Bonino , or call 419-241-9131.

The Heartbeat House is not being presented as a solution to every housing problem. It is a focused response to a specific need Heartbeat has repeatedly encountered: women trying to navigate pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting without a safe and stable place to live.

The goal is not merely to provide temporary shelter. It is to create a safe household, pair housing with accountable support, protect the wellbeing of mothers and infants, and help each resident prepare for a more stable next chapter.