Hollister
– Loneliness can be a terrible feeling.
Add to that an unplanned pregnancy, isolation from family and
friends and a road filled with difficult choices, and suddenly, the
picture imagined is a scared, overwhelmed young woman in need of
compassion.
Hollister – Loneliness can be a terrible feeling.
Add to that an unplanned pregnancy, isolation from family and friends and a road filled with difficult choices, and suddenly, the picture imagined is a scared, overwhelmed young woman in need of compassion.
So Hollister’s Compassion Pregnancy Services has a specific goal in mind when reaching out to these women – letting them know that they are not alone.
“We really just try to be sensitive to the women who come to us,” said staff member Angie Roland. “We want this to be a safe place for them to come. We want them to know that we will walk with them during this journey.”
Compassion Pregnancy Services was created in 1986 by a local couple, Tony and Naomi Schneider, “who just had a heart. They wanted to provide a safety net for women who were pregnant and maybe didn’t want to be,” Roland said. Nineteen years later, the Schneiders still serve on the nonprofit organization’s board of directors. “All these years they have just been incredible,” says Roland about the Schneiders.
Among the services offered at CPS are: a free pregnancy test, pregnancy education, clothing for mother and baby, furniture and strollers when available and referrals to outside agencies such as medical facilities.
Just as important, however, are the abstinence education and pregnancy prevention programs offered to students at both the junior high and high school grade levels. Headed by Robert Netzly, the pregnancy prevention program is an outreach of sorts, with Netzly visiting the junior high schools as well as church youth groups. Designed for both girls and boys, topics discussed include sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancies, and the emotional risks of being sexually active at a young age.
“We try to get them to look at the whole picture,” Roland said. “We want them to realize the consequences of what they are doing, that they are not just living in the here and now.”
Only about half of the girls who seek help from the organization are actually pregnant.
“That statistic gives us a wonderful opportunity to help them change their lifestyle,” she said. “We look at the choices they have made, and at what caused them to make those choices. Why did they decide to become sexually active? We want to help them learn to make good choices.”
Roland says staff will also encourage young girls who have a good home life to open up to their parents about an unplanned pregnancy. “If they have a good relationship with their parents, we try to get them to not be afraid, and go to them for help,” she said. “Most of the time, after the shock wears off, the parents will support them.”
In addition to its other services, CPS expects to add limited medical services soon, thanks to a state grant that will allow them to have a nurse on staff for consultations, as well as confirm pregnancy tests and perform ultrasounds. Other funding comes through two major events throughout the year – a dinner and the annual Walk for Life campaign.
If a pregnant woman should decide she wants an abortion, CPS does not offer referrals or services; however, Roland says staff members will talk to the expectant mothers to make sure they are comfortable with their decision.
“I have seen girls who have opted for abortion and lived to regret it,” she says. “We can tell them what they may end up with. We have seen so many different emotions from girls; some are still grieving years later, some can’t seem to live with their decision. We want them to understand if they opt for abortion, what they are really opting for. Their choice has consequences. It is not a quick fix.”
But 19 years, Roland says she has seen her share of heartwarming stories, as well.
“Not too long ago, a client came to us. She was pregnant and in a disastrous relationship. She really thought that abortion was the only choice for her,” she says. “But soon after she came here, she ended up in the hospital as a result of domestic abuse. The doctors and nurses there were wonderful. She received wonderful care, and she had an ultrasound done. I’m not sure exactly why she changed her mind, but she came in the center, and said she had decided she would choose life for herself and for her baby.”
Compassion Pregnancy Services is located 483 Fifth Street in Hollister. For more information, call 637-4020.
