Northaven, Inc. papers

Northaven, Inc. of Rochester, N.Y., a home for unwed mothers, was founded in 1895 as the Door of Hope Association by a group of concerned local women. The founders, wives of prominent city business and political leaders, rented a house at 293 Troup Street and, with the cooperation of the City Hospital, provided physicians and nurses to assist and reform "unfortunate and erring" young women. Local and transient women were admitted with no regard to color, social station, origin or religion, and given medical attention and moral and practical guidence through their pregnancy, delivery, and post-natal periods. No women were forced to give up their children, although arrangements were made for adoption of the babies if it was deemed necessary. The outlook and services of the home changed with advances in medical and social sciences, and it also went through a number of organizational and name charges. In 1922 it began to receive support from the Community Chest and became known as the Rochester Community Home for Girls. In 1931 the organization's charter was amended to facilitate adoption of babies born in the home, and to de-emphasize the moral reform aspects of the program. In 1945 it received a New York State adoption charter and in 1953 was renamed the Rochester Maternal and Adoption Service. In 1956 the organization was housed in new quarters built especially for its use, and by 1967 was a United Way agency and became incorporated under the name of Northaven, Inc. The maternity home closed in the early 1970s when changed attitudes about pregnancy outside of marriage made its services no longer necessary. The pregancy counseling and adoption activities of Northaven were formally taken over by Hillside Children's Center when the two organizations merged in 1976.