What to Do If You Are Pregnant and Homeless in Indiana

By: Grant Kirsh

If you are pregnant and do not have a safe place to live, you are in one of the most difficult situations a person can face. You may be scared, exhausted, and feeling like you have no good options.

We want you to know that you do have options. And the most important thing you can do right now is reach out to someone who can help.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have worked with expectant mothers in Indiana who were homeless, living in shelters, couch-surfing, or otherwise without stable housing. We are a family-run law firm that has been helping Indiana families for nearly 50 years. Our services are 100% free to birth mothers, and we care about what happens to you, not just your baby.

Immediate Help Is Available

If you are considering adoption, financial assistance can begin before your baby is born. Under Indiana law, the adoptive family may help pay for your housing, food, maternity clothing, and other living expenses up to $4,000. Medical costs and transportation are covered separately. Counseling costs should be covered 100% by the adoptive family.

That means adoption is not just a plan for your baby. It is a plan that can help stabilize your own situation during your pregnancy.

You Are Not Being Taken Advantage Of

We want to be very clear about this. Financial assistance during pregnancy is legal, regulated, and not a transaction for your child. Accepting help does not obligate you to go through with an adoption. You can change your mind at any point before you sign the consent. And you cannot sign the consent until after your baby is born.

A trustworthy adoption professional will never use your housing instability as leverage. If anyone makes you feel like they are helping you only to pressure you into placing your baby, that is a serious warning sign.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we will help you regardless of what you decide. If you decide to parent, we will respect that. If you decide on adoption, we will walk with you every step of the way.

Your Baby Deserves a Safe Start

If you are pregnant and homeless in Indiana, whether you are in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Hammond, Gary, South Bend, Muncie, Terre Haute, Anderson, Kokomo, Lafayette, Bloomington, Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, or anywhere else in this state, your baby deserves a safe start. So do you.

Adoption can provide your child with a family that is stable, loving, and ready. And it can give you the breathing room to get back on your feet. You choose the family. You choose the level of openness. All of our families commit to letters and photos for at least 18 years. You do not disappear from your child’s life.

Please Reach Out

You do not have to be in a perfect situation to make a phone call. You do not have to have anything figured out. Just reaching out is the first step, and it costs you nothing.

Call or text us at 800-333-5736. Visit us at IndianaAdoption.com. Everything is free and confidential.

For a complete overview of the adoption process, read our Complete Guide to Giving Up a Baby for Adoption in Indiana.

About the Author
Grant Kirsh is a second-generation adoption attorney and owner of Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., a family law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana that has been serving Indiana families since 1981. Grant graduated from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2013 and has personally handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions and his law firm has handled over 5,000 private newborn adoptions. He practices all forms of domestic adoption, with a deep personal commitment to expectant mothers considering adoption in Indiana and Indiana’s foster care system and the families and children it serves.