Story by Anna-Marie Comden, Guest Writer
This past April, a group of students from Aquinas College traveled to Bridge Street to get a tour of the new HELP pregnancy building and the services that they offer. This experience was enlightening and gave a sense of hope to all of the students that were able to make the trip.
When you first walk into the newly renovated building, you are greeted by cheerful secretaries asking if there is anything they can do to help you. Then, you are directed to a spacious and neat waiting room to await the plethora of services that they provide. Among these services is “the boutique” which is a room full of baby clothes for all ages, maternity clothes, diapers, and other needed supplies for new mothers. Women are able to “shop” here monthly by appointment and HELP welcomes walk-ins for essential items as needed for their growing families. All items and services are free of charge. HELP also provides layettes which are kits that provide materials for a mother to take home directly from the hospital after her beautiful baby is born.
In addition to these supplies, the new wing of the local pregnancy center provides confidential pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. The main goal with these services is to provide a mother consolation during her time of desolation by helping her get these needed services expense free and provide her with the utmost confidentiality and support.
Not only does HELP pregnancy provide all of these resources for during pregnancy but they also stay in touch and provide help until the child is up to three years old. Such services include classes through the Wright Connection which include things such as: fertility classes, kid’s dental care, how to budget, how to make healthy food and keep kids active, etc. These classes, along with the other resources available left us with the hope that there are people out there to help us and a promise that we will never be alone.
The director of HELP plus all of the employees and volunteers were extremely kind and exactly the type of people that I would want to be helping me through a crisis situation. They made it explicitly clear that they do not push their religious views on anyone, and they receive and respect clients from all different walks of life. You can find more information at helppregnancy.org or contact comdena@aquinas.edu for more information. The newly renovated building is located at 705 Bridge St. NW and everyone is welcome!
The Saint 