New York City resident Christopher Bell has always been concerned about the welfare of the homeless in his city, helping them in whatever way he can. One time the Good Samaritan saw pregnant women with their kids living on the streets with no homes to go to. The sight tugged at his heartstrings and he wondered why there aren't any long-term programmes ministering to them.

"I thought there was a need to have longer-term housing for mothers and babies, but I didn't know what to do," Bell told the Catholic News Agency. "I was close to Fr. Benedict Groeschel, and I complained to him, 'Why doesn't somebody do something to help these young mothers and children?'"

Fr. Groeschel, who is the founder of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, promptly acted on Bell's complaint. Together, they founded Good Counsel Homes in 1985, which aids homeless mothers and their children in getting off the streets by helping them find stability through work and education.

Since it started, Good Counsel Homes has helped over 7,000 women. The organisation is doing so well that it has now expanded to four additional houses in New York and New Jersey.

Bell shares that the project's beneficiaries are provided financial aid, health check-ups, relationship and life-skills classes, as well as classes on child growth and development. Women and their children usually stay for an average of 13 months, which is enough time for them to secure a job and stand up on their own two feet again.

Good Counsel Homes has now started an extension ministry called Lumina, which seeks to help individuals who have been affected by abortion.

"Lumina is not only for the women of Good Counsel to learn about post-abortion healing, but also for women and men and siblings around the country to be educated and to find groups and healing and hope," Bell said. "We want all of those involved in abortion to know that God can forgive you."

Bell said many women who have come through the doors of Good Counsel Homes have been victims of rape or incest, and some of them have even been advised to give up their unborn children because they might be born with defects. But Bell does not agree with abortion.