‘3,650 nights of safety’: Joseph’s House for Women celebrates 10 years

By James Mostrom
Contributing writer

This past St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, Joseph’s House for Women, a residential home and refuge in Syracuse for women with crisis pregnancies, celebrated the 10th anniversary of opening its doors to women and their children in need.

Bronson Kopp, Executive Director of Joseph’s House, calls the house a “Beacon of Hope” for the women who live there. “Today marks 10 years since the doors of Joseph’s house were opened to provide a safe, loving home for pregnant or parenting women who had nowhere else to go in our community,” he said at a luncheon celebrating the anniversary. He noted that Joseph’s House has provided “over 3,650 nights of safety, nights of a bed or a crib for some, nights of dinner shared around a table with family.”

Joseph’s House for Women opened its doors on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, 2014, at a large, renovated home on Danforth Street. At that time, it could accommodate only eight mothers and their children. In 2022, the charity acquired the former monastery of the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary on Court Street, and since then has renovated it to where it can now house up to 15 women and their children. Eventually, it will be able to accommodate 23 mothers.

Renovations are being funded in part by the sale of the former Danforth Street house. The move also allows the charity to consolidate programs and save over $150,000 a year in operating costs. Looking back, Kopp said, “702 Danforth provided life-saving sanctuary for over 3,500 nights. Hundreds of women and children lived under that roof, and 104 babies will forever call that their first home.” And, he added, “At no cost to them, at no cost to our city, our county, the state, the federal government, but thanks to [donors].”

“We’ve developed and honed our programming to address the physical, mental, spiritual growth and health of both our mothers and their children. We have 15 rooms available for women and children, but we know that the demand is greater. This past year, we received on average over 150 calls per month,” Kopp said.

Looking ahead

Anticipating future needs, Joseph’s House has embarked on a $5 Million Capital Campaign. Already, it has almost $2.4 Million in gifts and pledges confirmed from roughly 25 donors, according to Kopp. He added, “With an eye towards the next 10 years and beyond, as part of that campaign, we’ve established the Joseph House Agency Fund at the Central New York Community Foundation. This endowment fund will help ensure the financial viability of Joseph’s House for generations to come. This fund will also serve as a mechanism … to receive legacy gifts or requests through charitable estate giving, which we’ve seen an increase in the interest and generosity of over the past few years.”

The 10th anniversary celebration included Mass at the former monastery chapel celebrated by Bishop Douglas J.  Lucia. In his homily on the Gospel reading for the day (Matthew 1:16,18-21,24), Bishop Lucia noted that Joseph “doesn’t divorce himself from the situation [of Mary’s pregnancy]. But even more importantly, God doesn’t.” Bishop Lucia added that Joseph “doesn’t walk away from Mary …, he reaches out to her. He loves her even more. Isn’t that the mission of Joseph House?”

And indeed it is. As literature for Joseph’s House notes, “Every day there are pregnant women in CNY who have no place to go because they choose life for their baby” [emphasis added]. “We celebrate 10 years of walking alongside pregnant and parenting women in our community.”

Kopp also extends an invitation “to join us … as we embark [on the capital campaign] to ensure that there’s always a place for young moms in need right here at Joseph’s House.”

More information on Joseph’s House may be found at jhfw.org or 315-701-4981. Volunteers are needed and encouraged, as are Partners for Life, a mini