Friday, October 5, 2018

The Quiet But Remarkable Trend Among Pregnancy Help Centers


By Kirk Walden
National Right to Life


Editor’s note. This is excerpted from a post that appeared at Pregnancy Help News.

…So, while the attention may be on Washington, a subtle trend beyond the media’s scope is quietly telling me something big is happening. What’s interesting is that to figure it out, it takes connecting the dots. As I travel this fall—and answer emails—the dots are coming together.

Recently I got an email from a pregnancy help center in Arkansas, about its capital campaign. Without picking up on its implications, I typed out a response to the questions asked and went back to whatever I was doing.

Then, another from Indiana. That center is out of space—too many clients, too many services. They needed information on a capital campaign. I put together another reply.

And, a center in California just moved into a new building. They needed more space, too. Good for them.

Then, similar stories came across my desk from Oregon. From Tennessee. Texas, too. And in Alabama where I’ll be in a couple of weeks, a center is converting to a medical clinic and moving into a new home. They need—you guessed—more space.

As I write, I’m in Wilkesboro, NC for an event with Wilkes Pregnancy Care Center. Guess what the focus is for the event? Yep. I got to tour their current home, an 1,800-square-foot facility—then a more than 5,000 square foot office where they plan to move in January. They are simply out of room.

These stories won’t make the evening news. And this column won’t blow up the Twitterverse. Because this column isn’t about conflict, it isn’t about political upheaval and backroom deals. And to be honest, perhaps this is only “anecdotal” evidence of a trend.

But in my 27 years in this work, I’ve had the opportunity to see trends in their opening stages. This is one of them.

Our outreach is growing. We’re seeing more of the patients and clients who need us most; those in the valley of decision regarding a pregnancy. We—all of us—are growing in our impact as those struggling with a pregnancy decision look our way more often.

As a result, we are expanding our services. Which will lead to more who need us most coming to us.

National Right to Life continues here

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