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CV News Feed // Good Counsel Homes, a life-affirming ministry dedicated to providing shelter and support to pregnant women experiencing homelessness, will celebrate its 40th anniversary by hosting its inaugural Pro-Life Symposium April 5 at Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in Yonkers, New York.
The event will bring together pro-life advocates for a day of inspiration, education, and collaboration, featuring prominent speakers such as Sister Deirdre Byrne, Father Fidelis Moscinski, and Melissa Ohden. Cardinal Timothy Dolan is set to celebrate Mass for the gathering.
According to Good Counsel Homes’ Christopher Bell, the symposium will focus on the future of the pro-life movement, providing insights, strategies, and renewed hope for those committed to defending the unborn.
Bell, who founded Good Counsel Homes on March 10, 1985, with the late Father Benedict Groeschel, began his mission with a simple but profound realization: Young pregnant women facing homelessness were among the most vulnerable in society.
In a recent interview with CatholicVote, Bell shared how his journey into pro-life advocacy was deeply intertwined with his faith and personal experiences. He explained where he was in life when he met his future wife, Joan Andrews, a staunch pro-life activist.
“I had just opened Good Counsel Homes and attended my first March for Life in 1986,” he recalled. “At the time, I didn’t know much about the pro-life movement — I just knew I wanted to help homeless, runaway kids in Times Square.”
Before meeting Andrews, Bell had been working with kids living on the street in New York City.
“I was taken aback by young women who were pregnant and had children and no place to go,” Bell recalled. “Scripture really encourages us to take care of widows and orphans, and it really struck me that they’re the most vulnerable.”
Seeing the plight of the young pregnant women, Bell turned to Fr. Groeschel, who encouraged him to step out in faith and offered to help him open a home for mothers and babies.
Bell recalled, “I told God, ‘If in one year, nothing happens — if I can’t find a building, raise money, or get people involved — then I’ll assume I misheard You.’ Six months later, we opened our first home.”
Today, the organization operates four homes, including three in the greater New York area and one in New Jersey, that provide shelter, counseling, education, and life-skills training to women in crisis.
Since its founding, Good Counsel Homes has assisted more than 8,000 women and children, offering them not only shelter and material needs but also hope and a pathway to a better future.
Those interested in attending Good Counsel’s first Pro-Life Symposium can find more details and register here.
