Blue Haven Makes Huge Strides Since 2020 Launch
More than four years after starting Blue Haven Ranch, many good things have changed for founders Aubrey and Bryan Schlackman.
Perhaps the biggest came in 2022 when they sold their Argyle home from where they first assisted single pregnant women with at least one other child, then bought a four-acre farm in Krum. It also included the mom of three children retiring from her job as a dental hygienist and managing the ministry full time as its executive director while Bryan remained a full-time chiropractor.
Then there was the hiring of staff to help her meet increasing demand, most recently Tricia McWilliams as operations director and Destiny Teel as development officer. Aubrey plans on hiring two new staff in January – a program advisor/case manager and a farm care therapy/volunteer coordinator. And there has been securing a six-person board of directors.
“We are more prepared at partnering with other non-profits and the government-assisted programs,” Aubrey said. “We’ve gotten a lot better at where to send the moms.
“We’re the only one that takes moms with at least one kid. None of the other maternity homes will take a mom who has kids. Or they take single moms with kids, but they won’t take them pregnant.”
Blue Haven Ranch provides support groups, counseling, aptitude testing, cooking and life skills training and work education and support throughout pregnancy and up to 18 months after the baby is born so the moms can become self-sufficient again.
The Krum property is used for Saturday farm therapy sessions where families come out to play, garden, and commiserate with the animals. Staff also arranges to house the families in the same apartment complex in Denton County. And it now has an office on the Square in downtown Denton.
“In the four years we’ve been operating, we’ve graduated nine and have three in the program right now,” said Aubrey, who hosts support groups at area churches. “I’m getting ready to add more after our (Race to Rescue) Gala on Oct. 11.”
Blue Haven’s program starts at any stage of the mom’s pregnancy and includes two months of maternity leave to stay home with their baby and other children. Counseling is provided to moms throughout that period until 18 months post-partem, when they graduate and must do things on their own.
“Our goal is to have them with solid jobs — that they can afford what their life with their kids is going to cost — that we have found them and stabilized them in affordable housing and then they have affordable, sustainable childcare,” Aubrey said.
Blue Haven’s program includes teaching the moms how to manage their finances including credit score, debt to income ratio, and budgets so they have an action plan and are executing it to avoid credit issues. The goal is to be financially prepared to address potential crises.
“We also work to establish them in new communities which is the key to surviving as a single parent is to have a supportive community around them,” Aubrey said. “By the baby’s first birthday, we start this transition process community placement program. We ask them ‘where do you want to live, where do you want the kids to go to school, where do you want to go to church? You need to be plugged in somewhere and have your own network. Once you leave ours, you need to access other resources.’”
Blue Haven has a constant wait list of 12-35 families.
“We get a lot of referrals from all over the Metroplex,” she said. “I’m hoping some day we can say ‘wait, there’s this place over here.’ That would be great. There’s such a huge need I could use some help.”
The Schlackman’s goal remains owning a large working ranch somewhere in Denton County where mothers and their children can live and heal in peace on-site, far away from the busy demands of the city. But it’s been a much more complicated process than they anticipated.
In the meantime, they are seeking new business and church partners and individual donors. To learn more about Blue Haven Ranch, visit bluehavenranch.org.
