Heading into a new year can be exciting. The eagerness to make needed changes, the anticipation of what lies ahead and the idea of fresh opportunities seems to create a new enthusiasm for us all.
Heading into a new season of life can also be exciting. But if that new season is an unplanned pregnancy and you have nowhere to go it can seem scary and overwhelming. The absence of a stable, secure and safe environment will cause someone alarm when they find out they are expecting.
Pregnancy centers can offer so many wonderful options for pregnant moms and moms of babies. Those that seek services from a pregnancy center can receive much needed educational, material and spiritual support but once they leave the center, aftercare is often an issue. One can receive pregnancy tests, STI testing, limited obstetric ultrasounds, abortion alternatives, and parenting classes but we are often limited to those resources available. Material items are available and meet many needs to those we serve, but when patients leave our center without a safe environment to go home to there is still a void left in their lives. It is important to The PLC Health Clinic to provide the most comprehensive services and support that we can to those in need and we believe that the addition of a maternity home within our organization is the perfect solution to a growing need in our area.
A maternity home can be the best place for you if you are:
- Facing an unplanned pregnancy
- In an abusive situation and you are pregnant with no where else to go
- Looking at being homeless because you have chosen to carry your child
- In an unsafe or unstable situation that will cause you distress in your pregnancy
Regardless of your story and your plan for the future, finding somewhere safe for you and your unborn baby is the first step toward a healthy and fulfilling pregnancy. Even if you have found out that you are pregnant and unsure of whether you will keep your baby- this could be a positive direction to head. Some women will carry their baby and ultimately choose adoption- a maternity home is still a great solution for them throughout their pregnancy; providing an atmosphere of support, stability and personal growth.
Our long-term design is unique to our area. We will admit women at any stage of pregnancy and offer them the opportunity to remain in the program until their baby is 18 months of age or until they have successfully worked through our program. Our goal is holistic life transformation; staff members and mentors serve the whole person by addressing the emotional and spiritual needs of each resident, in addition to her practical needs. Women are immersed in a supportive community. Regular church attendance is highly encouraged within our Christian ministry, as well as weekly meals as a family and weekly meetings with a mentor and case manager. These sources of support provide each woman with social strength from a greater community that they can carry with them when they complete their season at the home.
Within a family setting, a maternity home can offer an opportunity for someone to have access to an abundance of resources; allowing them to become self-sufficient and independent as they work through the housing program. The maternity home can provide:
- Housing for unsupported mothers until their child is 18 months of age or until the mother is independently secure
- A life skills curriculum preparing residents for independent living
- Goal planning towards a self-sustainable life
- Biblical counseling and teaching
- Individualized case management to advance the residents education or career planning
- A job placement program to prepare residents and assist them in being employable and employed
- Continual physical, emotional and spiritual support from staff members and mentors
The addition to a maternity home within our pregnancy center will be centered on a number of core values that we believe will allow the home and those that enter its programming to succeed in a number of ways. These core values include:
- Flexibility: residents come first: we change and adapt to their specific needs
- People over program: a program does not come before loving and serving
- Gospel fluency: we speak the language of the gospel fluently into their lives
- Unity: from the staff to the residents everyone’s voice matters
Paralleling these core values, the home will have an umbrella of goals for those we serve. The goals will be what guides each resident to set and reach their own unique goals as they live within the home and beyond their time in our program. These goals include but will not be limited to:
- That every resident would feel safe, loved and valued
- To empower her to be free to dream, to believe in herself and to make new mistakes
- To give her tools right now to make goals and to provide an environment to achieve those goals
As we move into the new year and a new season within our organization we are excited to see how impactful the maternity home will be to our community. If you or someone you know is displaced or in a living situation that is not safe or stable, please contact the PLC Health Clinic at 419.238.9177 or for further information about our housing option.
*Resources available upon request
