GROVE CITY — Laura Colapietro wants to give girls in a tough situation a second chance.

"I went through a lot when I was younger, and I always wanted to do something for teens but didn't know exactly what," Colapietro said.

"I asked some Children and Youth Services workers what they needed, and this was it."

The Laura Walker Project, a home for pregnant teens named after Colapietro's mother, is set to start later this summer as renovations take place on the building at 202 W. Pine St.

Colapietro faced a turbulent childhood when her father murdered her mother in Pittsburgh in 1980, when Colapietro was 7 years old. She founded the organization in her mother's memory. Her father died of a heart attack in prison five years after his sentencing.

"We want to have this home because we want to break these girls' dependency on welfare, which is where a lot of the girls end up because they just don't have anywhere else to go for their needs," Colapietro said.

"They'll come into our house and we will see what their needs are, help them finish their education, obtain job skills, find an adequate place to live before they leave and they will receive counseling the whole time they are here."

Colapietro, 35, of Grove City has two degrees from Slippery Rock University in psychology and elementary education.

She is working on a master's degree in professional counseling and over the past few years has raised more than $25,000 by word-of-mouth. She is still working to raise more money for the startup costs, but rent for the building will be covered by fees paid for women to stay at the home.

The Grove City zoning hearing board May 14 granted Colapietro a variance and special exception use that will allow her to use the first floor of the building for residential purposes.

Members of borough council attended the meeting to recommend the space be used for commercial purposes only, since it is in a commercial zone. But after about 45 minutes of debate, the zoning hearing board voted to allow the use of the building for the Laura Walker Project.

Richard Yard, a member of the zoning board, asked Colapietro several questions before voting to grant the special exception.

"When their boyfriends come, if there's trouble you'd have to call the cops and we really don't need that," Yard said.

Barb Brown, Springfield Township administrator and board member, showed support for the cause throughout the meeting.

"A service for young women like this is probably desperately needed, and if we had more of this going on in the world, we'd have a better world," Brown said. "Grove City will show them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

Colapietro said the girls would be well supervised and would also have set visitation hours. The 2,800-square-foot building can accommodate seven to 10 young mothers, who would stay for six months. The placing agencies helping the women would pay a daily rate to fund their stay.

Colapietro said when the women live in Grove City, they will recognize a better way of living and develop both their personal and professional skills.

"I think Grove City is a great place, and I think the girls coming here will see there is hope for them, and there is an alternative way for them to live compared to what they have been faced with," she said.

Nathan Depew, who owns the building, told the zoning board the home may be the last chance for some.

"This is primarily for young women who end up being pregnant and don't have the family support they need," Depew said. "They need a place to stay or they will end up in trouble."

Depew is paying for all of the building's renovations.

Colapietro will be the organization's executive director, and two other social workers will be on the site at all times. Mothers who are 21 years old and younger will be assisted, and all of the girls will get background checks and can have no prior record, Colapietro said.

After the renovations are complete, the building will be inspected before Colapietro can obtain a license from the state Department of Welfare.

Sharon Harrilla, director of the Grove City Education Center for Adults, will work with the project to give the girls opportunities for tutoring and learning both professional and interpersonal skills.

"This is a natural partnership," Harrilla said. "This is very structured and these girls will be here for a purpose, which is to improve their lives."

The building needs a kitchen, showers, bathtubs and windows in some of the bedrooms. The work will all be done this summer, Colapietro said.

"I'm just looking forward to helping the girls," she said.