Editor’s note: If you are experiencing domestic violence or know someone who is, you can visit Coburn Place at 604 E. 38th St. in Indianapolis, or visit the “Get Help” section of its website. Coburn Place is not an emergency shelter.
When Tracy Clark arrived at Coburn Place in 2016, she sat on the floor in her new apartment with her eyes closed. The stress that had built up during Clark’s two years in an abusive relationship washed away.
Moments like this are common for domestic violence survivors once they reach safety, said Clark, who now works at Coburn Place.
Even though Clark wasn’t living with her abuser anymore before getting to Coburn Place, she still didn’t feel safe. And, she worried about her 1-year-old’s safety for the four months in between.
“I really didn’t have a next step,” Clark said. “I was on my cousin’s couch at the time.”
One in five survivors arrive at Coburn Place with newborn babies or while still pregnant, said Julie Henson, vice president of development for Coburn Place. The nonprofit is gearing up to launch a new program — Coburn Babies — to help survivors who are pregnant or have infants.
Coburn Place’s team hopes to raise $250,000 to start the program.
A vacant housing unit at Coburn Place is seen June 17, 2025, in Indianapolis. Coburn Place offers resources, peer support and housing to people experiencing domestic violence and abuse.
Coburn Babies would be an expansion of support and classes the organization already offers to those who are pregnant or have newborns. Henson said aid for pregnant women is especially important since Indiana’s maternal mortality rate is the third-worst in the United States, according to a 2020 study done by the Georgetown (University) Institute for Women, Peace and Security.
A study cited in the National Library of Medicine showed that abused pregnant women are twice as likely to miss prenatal care appointments or skip prenatal care entirely. This could lead to negative pregnancy outcomes for the mother or child.
From the same study by the NLM, abused pregnant women are more likely to pick up poor health behaviors such as smoking, alcohol and substance use during their term. It is also shown that more than half of women who have died by suicide while pregnant were in abusive relationships.
The health of the fetus is also at risk when the mother experiences domestic abuse.
“These survivors are fighting for their life,” Henson said. “ … We know we should be throwing everything we have at making sure moms have the safest experience of childbirth they possibly can.”
A ‘therapeutic community’
Kiana Moore was three months pregnant when she found Coburn Place. She wasn’t sure that her pregnancy would have gone smoothly if not for securing safety.
The safe haven allowed her to leave a seven-year abusive relationship.
“I was still in the middle of my storm,” she said. “I couldn’t even really think about what the baby needed … The gates made me feel safe.”
Moore gave birth without complications December 24, 2022. She and her newborn called Coburn Place home for a year and a half.
“She started walking here,” Moore said.
Coburn Place allows survivors to stay in their apartments for as long as 24 months; Clark stayed for 13. She said Coburn Place stands out from other domestic violence residences because of the extended amount of time Coburn allows its survivors to stay.
“Having two years to reset your life is unheard of,” Clark said.
With 35 apartments on site — a mix of studios, two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms — Coburn Place’s ability to house survivors for up to two years gives survivors a chance to enroll in therapy and financial literacy classes, find permanent housing or land a new job.
Moore used Coburn Place’s resources to her advantage, taking mindfulness classes where she learned how to focus on the present, meditate through yoga and relax by painting. She said she has incorporated all of these learned behaviors into her daily life in the three years since.
“I wanted to be different when I left,” Moore said.
She grew as a mother at Coburn, too, experiencing major milestones in her youngest daughter’s life such as her first steps within the confines of the safe haven.
Turning survival into advocacy
Moore lived through stalking, domestic violence, poisoning and murder threats from her abuser. When Moore remembers this self-described “torture,” she wonders, “How was I able to go to work? How was I able to eat? How was I able to feed my kids?”
She didn’t want to find out what it would have been like to give birth under these circumstances. Just three years after living in a domestic violence shelter to escape her situation, Moore is now an advocate for other women trying to survive the same horrors.
“We think it’s normal for people to harass you every day whenever they want to because they’re upset,” Moore said. “I learned that I have a voice.”
Coburn Place Lemonade Stand
Coburn Place’s annual lemonade stand fundraiser provides children experiencing homelessness with shoes and school supplies ahead of a new academic year. You can help in three ways:
🍋 Donate though July 19 to the virtual lemonade stand at coburnplace.org/lemons.
🍋 Purchase a lemonade between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. July 17 at Coburn Place, 604 E. 38th St.
🍋 Are you 21+? Buy a spiked lemonade from 5-9 p.m. July 18 at 8th Day Distillery, 1125 E. Brookside Ave.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Kyle Smedley was an Indianapolis Press Club Foundation fellow working this summer with Mirror Indy. You can follow him on X @KyleSmedley03.
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