GOOD WORKS: FOCUS ON: MY HOUSE FOR BABIES

Julia Walker has never been drawn to babies the way some people are.

"I'm not one of those women who just has to pick up every baby they see,"
said Walker, a grandmother of five who lives in Palmetto.

But when she was looking for an opportunity to do volunteer work, she was
drawn to the tiny children that live at My House, a shelter for medically
fragile babies with nowhere else to go. Many were born to drug-addicted
mothers and were premature or have a host of other ailments. Others
suffered damage from abuse. All of them need a better place than a hospital
ward to heal and grow.

"They just struggle to survive. Yet they give you their complete trust, and
to see them develop and grow, it's just so satisfying and humbling," said
Walker, who volunteers four hours a week.

My House was founded in June 1999 by Donna Carson, a social worker at Grady
Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit, where many of the babies first land.

"We kept waiting for somebody to start something like this, but finally I
just decided to do it myself," Carson said.

Because all the children are in the custody of the Department of Family and
Children Services, the location of the rented house is kept secret. Carson
said the program already has outgrown the house and that she wants to
expand beyond the current limit of 12 babies.

"I get from five to as many as 17 calls a day looking for space, but we
just can't expand here," Carson said.

She said 45 children have passed through her shelter since it opened. Some
wound up being placed with other family members, some were reunited with
their mothers and some were adopted, including one adopted by Fulton County
Juvenile Court Judge Nina Hickson.

"Originally I figured the babies would stay here for three or four months,
then move on to homes," Carson said. "But many of them stay seven to eight
months. And some stay up to two years, so we need green space for toddlers
to play. We never thought of that originally."

Carson aims to raise enough money in 2002 to buy 15 to 20 acres and a
house. That effort is off to a good start, thanks to a $100,000 grant from
Oprah Winfrey's television show. Carson has been on the show twice talking
about her program.

"It's been great exposure for us, especially because we depend so heavily
on donations," Carson said.

DFCS pays a stipend for each child, but Carson said it doesn't cover all
their expenses. Still, she said the shelter is a bargain for the public.
"It can cost up to $1,500 a day to keep a preemie in the hospital," Carson
said. "This is a cost savings for the public and it's a better environment
for the children."

My House hopes to get at least $200,000 from the St. Philip's Cathedral
Antiques Show on Jan. 29-31, for which there is a preview party Jan. 28 and
an accompanying tour of homes Jan. 27-28. Proceeds will go to My House.

"Last year we raised $250,000, but that was our best year ever," said
Sandra Carey, the church's chairwoman of the antiques show.

Carson also runs a sister program, Project Prevent, which tries to stop
pregnant women from using drugs.

"My House ends up with the babies of the women we can't reach," Carson said.

Carson said she couldn't run My House without the more than 200 volunteers
who spend time caring for and loving the babies.

"We have about 30 full- and part-time staffers, but we could never give the
children all the attention they need if it wasn't for the volunteers,"
Carson said.

Walker celebrated her one-year anniversary at the shelter on Christmas.
Last Christmas the shelter needed help, and because she was a new
volunteer, she agreed to help out then.

This year, she wanted to be there again on Christmas. "My children are
grown, and my grandchildren aren't coming to town until after Christmas,"
Walker said. "A lot of the volunteers drop in on Christmas. We're the
extended family for these babies. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing."

Those interested in volunteering or making a donation to My House can call
404-876-1337 or write My House, P.O. Box 55127, Atlanta, GA 30308. You also
can check the group's Web site at www.myhouseweb.org.

Those interested in attending the St. Philip's Cathedral Antiques Show or
home tour may call 404-365-1107 or check the church's Web site at
www.stphilipscathedral.org.