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Advice & Pregnancy Centers23. 6. 5. 111. 100-150. 577. 3,800.
Tom Becker and Ted Halpin, two Nativity parishioners, currently serve on the board at Advice and Aid. They’ve both been involved with the organization for quite some time and have offered their services in a variety of ways over the years. Many other Nativity parishioners have also been involved with Advice and Aid and the organization received funds from the Parish Outreach Committee. “What you will find [at Advice and Aid] is an active group of people who care about a life who are willing to put their time, talent and treasure to work in an environment where people of all faiths come together around a common goal, which is to eliminate abortion, one life at a time.” Ted said. Advice and Aid is a “Christian ministry that offers emotional, physical and spiritual support to those who find themselves in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy,” according to the literature they hand out. But the reality of this organization goes much further. They provide women and men a means of non-judgmental, loving support and help them to understand their options in a time of crisis. “Typically, a person in a crisis pregnancy feels like they have no control,” Barb Gosa, executive director at Advice and Aid said, “so even something as simple as feeling like they have the choice to walk out is important. We want these women to realize they have control and we have lots of tools to help them make informed decisions. The last thing we want is for a woman to come back to us and ask ‘Why didn’t someone tell me this?’” ?>From the moment a client walks in the door at Advice and Aid, it is evident that they are in a safe environment. The art on the walls offers encouragement through striking photography and uplifting Bible verses. The clean and tidy waiting area feels a bit like a doctor’s office, but that compliments the professional attitude of all who serve there. About five years ago Advice and Aid changed to a more medical model which includes a sonogram. They are now affiliated with national organizations and are more sensitive to their clientele. Many women who walk through their doors are abortion-minded, and they do not want to turn them off with pink walls and a “baby-centered” focus. They genuinely care about the sanctity of all human life, beginning with the clients. Women are taken to a counseling room where there is a comfy couch and easy access to the door if they choose to leave. They are given a pregnancy test to take and come back to review the results with a volunteer counselor. Last year Advice and Aid administered 577 pregnancy tests. Fifty-nine percent were positive. After the results are determined there are several options for the women. If the test is negative, they discuss the Sexual Integrity Program with the client by explaining the benefits of abstaining until marriage. They discuss lifestyle changes and how saying “yes” to sex within marriage will help make them more successful in life and ultimately make them happier. If the test is positive, there are several courses of action. They can set up a consultation with the staff nurse if the client is at risk for an abortion. Their limited medical license enables them to provide sonograms on site in their exam room. “I always like to put something in their hands,” Shirlee Parks, staff nurse, said. “A lot of our girls need a reality check to realize that they are, in fact, pregnant. So we give them something that ties them back to the feelings they had in the building. Many of them walk out our doors into a world that pressures them to choose abortion, but offers no support. Regardless of their choice, we love and support them. If we aren’t there to love them, then they will not know there are other options.”
“Women can get everything from diapers and formula to high chairs, clothes and paper products [which are for women on government aid that does not cover paper products],” Barb said. “These women have really done a lot of work to earn these things, so typically, everything is new.” There is also a maternity closet with clothes of all sizes for women to use throughout their pregnancy. Most are lightly used, but all are in great shape and offer women the opportunity to feel more confident and comfortable throughout the pregnancy. “Having something pretty to wear when you are pregnant is a joy,” Barb said. For those clients who opt for an adoption, there is a special “Hope Chest” full of women-centered options to provide for and pamper the birth mother. “A couple of the girls chose to use some points to purchase the outfit the baby will go home to their adopted family in,” Barb said conveying much of the love and respect she has for all the women who come through the door in her tone of voice. Some women are, for a multitude of reasons, unable to commit to the rigorous Options Program, so they are given something else just before they deliver. They are given a baby dresser from Advice and Aid’s Dresser Program, but these dressers are unlike ones purchased in a store. They are crammed full of all the necessities a parent would need for the first three months of their child’s life. “Most women start to cry when they come to pick up the dresser and realize what is inside,” Barb said. “They can just hardly believe someone cares enough about them to be so generous. And there is some relief that everything will be all right.” For six years now, the Confirmation class at Nativity has provided a dresser full of baby items. The dresser is delivered to the Shawnee location. Every year the dresser is brimming with such useful items as onsies, baby shampoo, newborn and medium-sized outfits and diapers. Another way Advice and Aid offers immediate assurance is through Alice’s Pantry, another memorial set up in memory of Alice Hoelting and stocked by Alice’s family and other donors. This small pantry can be used by clients twice a year. “Literally, food is sometimes the difference between life and death,” Barb said, “so if we can offer them enough to make it through a week, that can help them avoid further crisis.” After the child is born, parents can enroll in the Bridges Program, which can be taken until the child is three years old. Volunteer speakers come in to address a wide variety of topics. “[The Bridges Program] is about so much more than making the right choices,” Barb said. “It’s about helping them become good parents for life.” Parents are able to continue to earn points for use in Patty’s Closet throughout this program, and volunteers are always available to offer continued support and build lasting relationships though informal mentoring roles that naturally evolve. Though there were 111 lives celebrated last year, there were also women who were scarred by abortion. Advice and Aid offers ongoing support and counseling for all clients who wish to take part, which includes Abortion recovery Counseling and Support. Among other things, there is a beautiful Memorial Garden out back where several women who have gone through an abortion and counseling are given the opportunity to honor their child. All of the more than 3,800 services provided last year to women in crisis were made possible by the loving support of volunteers who donated their time, or their professional services, or a monetary contribution. It is through their continued efforts and those of the paid and unpaid staff at Advice and Aid that 111 children are here today, but the benefit of the education and support given to these women and men who enter their doors cannot be calculated in facts and figures. “It is a very hands-on organization,” Ted said, “and is about the individuals who are going through a crisis pregnancy.” There is a cultural change occurring with the relationships formed within those walls, and the sanctity for all life is evident in the life-affirming messages that are “making abortion unthinkable… one life at a time.” If you would like to become involved with Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers, you may contact them directly at 913-962-0200 or visit them online at www.adviceandaid.com, or call Tom Becker, 913-814-7323. |
On their own the numbers don’t carry much weight. But when you consider Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers, Inc., a privately-funded 501 (c) 3 organization, has operated for the last 23 years with only six paid employees and 100-150 volunteers annually, they provided more than 3,800 services to clients, administered 577 pregnancy tests, celebrated 111 births and five adoptions in 2006 alone. Those numbers become stories that are “making abortion unthinkable… one life at a time.”
Women also have the choice of joining the Options Program. The Options Program utilizes an "earn while you learn" 5-plus component training model that is customized to suit the specific needs of each client. Among other things, they teach expectant mothers about nutrition, smoking, infant care, budgeting as a single parent, the option of adoption and other useful topics related to her pregnancy. The client works one-on-one with a counselor throughout her pregnancy, earning points for each component she completes. When they are in their 35th week of pregnancy, they can use their points to purchase layette items (including car seats, cribs and other furniture items) from Patty’s Closet, a store of new children’s items created in memory of Patty Brown. Patty’s Closet literally started out as a small closet, but has grown in size to include an outdoor shed that houses larger items. 