After 15 years in the North Hills, an agency that provides housing for homeless women with children has made a temporary move to Scott.

HEARTH, which stands for Homelessness Ends with Advocacy, Resources, Training and Housing, for years had leased 15 two- and three-bedroom apartments at Benedictine Place in Ross from the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh. However, when the sisters decided in December to put the property up for sale because it had became too much to manage, HEARTH learned it would need to find a new place by June 15.

As a result, the agency has moved those housed at Benedictine Place to the Carriage Park apartment complex in Scott.

HEARTH works with homeless women with children and provides up to two years of housing on conditions the women attend school or a job-training program and receive life skills counseling. The goal is to help the women become independent and able to live without assistance.

While the move has been a challenge, the temporary location offers the same access to public transportation and the women are adjusting well, said Judith Eakin, executive director of the organization. The agency looked at more than 30 locations before finding one that was convenient to schools, childcare facilities, grocery stores and public transportation, she said.

The move to Scott, however, is just a temporary solution. The agency has launched a capital campaign to raise $1.5 million and is seeking tax credits to buy and renovate the former Zoar Home in Shaler. The site, which sits on nearly six acres along Mount Royal Boulevard, includes a main building and two other smaller buildings.

HEARTH officials plan to renovate the main building to create 12 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom apartments, an apartment for an on-site manager, a childcare room, a community room and an office. One of the smaller buildings will be used for offices.

Ms. Eakin said the site is ideal because it allows for future growth of the agency, if needed. It is already zoned for an additional 14 townhomes, she said. HEARTH has secured an option to buy the property for $1.2 million and has applied for $4.5 million in tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to help fund the purchase and needed renovation work, Ms. Eakin said. The renovation work is expected to cost about $5 million.

If all works out as planned, the renovation is expected to begin this winter. Completion is expected by March 2013, Ms. Eakin said.

Ms. Eakin said agency officials had inquired about buying the Benedictine property but it proved to be impractical for their needs and too costly.

While the move and land purchase wasn't something they saw coming, Ms. Eakin said it is proving to be a great opportunity. The Mount Royal property will have more amenities than Benedictine Place, such as air-conditioned apartments and an elevator, meaning the entire building will be handicap-accessible. The location, like the Benedictine property, is also wooded and peaceful, which the women in the program noted as something they really loved, she said.

"As we looked at it we realized that sometimes things are a blessing in disguise. It's a challenging time, but an exciting time," Ms. Eakin said. "Plus, once we own the property nobody can evict us again."

In addition to the temporary housing in Scott, the agency also has a number of apartments scattered throughout the North Hills for those with mental or physical conditions that need permanent or longer-term help to become independent. HEARTH at Benet Woods, which sits near Benedictine Place, is home to 11 units of affordable housing.

Since 1995 the agency has assisted more than 550 women.