Human Service Agency and Report

¶ … human service agency and report on it. The agency chosen is the Pregnancy Resource Center of Henry County (PRC) located at 3834 Jodeco Rd, McDonough, GA 30253. This agency's mission, noted on their Web site is "to celebrate the value of all human life and to demonstrate Christ's unconditional love" (PRC, 2005). In this, the agency and its members provide information, counseling, and pregnancy testing. They do not offer abortions, but counsel young women about all options, including pregnancy termination. The agency serves a variety of clients young and old, and offers services free or at a very low cost to clients.

One of the valuable services of the PRC is counseling to pregnant women so they know and understand all the options available to them if they are pregnant. Of course, if the pregnancy is unplanned or unwanted, there are several options for mothers. One is to go through with the pregnancy and give the child up for adoption. Another is to keep the child and raise it herself. For many women, these are not viable alternatives. In addition, some pregnancies may be dangerous to the health of the mother or child and the mother or her doctor must decide to terminate the pregnancy. For all these reasons, there are also other alternatives to unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. The most common alternative is abstinence. Refusing premarital or unsafe sex is the strongest method of birth control there is, and PRC strongly believes in education young people about the value of abstinence. The agency also offers a "links" page on their Web site with a wide variety of resources for young people including birth control, support, and questions and answers about birth control, abstinence, and abortion.

The most well-known option is clinical abortion. Abortions are performed most often during the first trimester (14 weeks or three months) of pregnancy. Doctors and nurses will only perform abortions after 24 weeks if there is significant health risk to the mother or child if the pregnancy continues. Medical abortion is the most common form of abortion, but there are also medication abortions where a shot or tablet of a particular medication is given and followed up with additional doses that cause the pregnancy to terminate. There are also so-called "morning after pills" that a woman can take if she had unsafe sex and fears she may be pregnant as a result. The well-versed counselors at PRC know and understand all the methods of preventing unwanted pregnancies and in choosing options for unwanted pregnancies. That is one of the premier counseling duties, to counsel young women to help them make the choice about their pregnancy. They strive to be caring, compassionate, and understanding, no matter what the circumstances.

The organization of the agency includes a board of directors made up of thirteen individuals. Doctors, pastors, and other professionals are members of the board, along with citizens of the area. The staff is comprised of four women, including an Executive Director, Director of Advancement, Nurse Manager, and Client Services Director. There are also volunteers who serve in a variety of functions at the Center. The administration also asks local pastors to volunteer for "pastor of the week" to conduct Pastor Prayer time on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings.

The major goals of the agency are to promote Christian values while dealing with the realties of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. They want to promote a caring and safe environment for women, and they want to help young women make the right choices when it comes to the many facets of pregnancy. The agency provides pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counseling, and follow up after babies are born. They provide young mothers with food, baby clothing, car seats, diapers, cribs, and other supplies they will need to nurture their new baby and help it grow. The agency's goal is not to judge unwed mothers, but to support, forgive, and nurture them so they can go on to create meaningful lives for themselves and their children. Of course, the agency wants to educate young women not to become pregnant in the first place, but they recognize the frailties of humanity and choose to support and care for rather than judge or condemn.

As noted, the agency provides a wide variety of services and programs. They service women and young children in the greater Henry County, GA area. The agency provides counseling for pregnant women, but it also provides support to those mothers who choose to keep and raise their children. They provide everything from baby formula and diapers to maternity clothing, baby clothing, car seats, and cribs to needy families and mothers. It is a full-service organization in that caseworkers are assigned to clients and can advise them throughout the pregnancy and beyond. PRC also has counseling available for young mothers who choose to give their babies up for adoption. They also provide links to further educational information, and will counsel young women if they choose to have an abortion, too. They will not perform the abortion, however. They also provide ultrasounds for patients.

Funding is always a challenge in any community service organization such as this. PRC has a wide variety of creative funding and donation sources. They provide a donation button on their Web site, and have several local programs where citizens can donate a variety of equipment and funds. The ask for donations of baby and expecting mother necessities, such as baby bottles, clothing, formula, diapers, cribs, and more. They also encourage people to turn in their own cell phones for recycling. They receive $7 for each phone they collect and turn in to an organization that refurbishes them and donates them to needy organizations. They also have a program with the local Marble Slab Creamery ice cream store. Receipts are collected in a jar and PRC receives a donation for each receipt dropped in the jar. Clearly, these are small scale funding sources, and the PRC receives funds from other agencies, too. Their Web site does not note if they receive federal grants, but it seems sure that they receive funding from the county or other municipal funding, or they would not be able to continue. Most community service organizations such as this do not survive totally on private support.

The PRC also enjoys collaborate relationships with other local, state, and national agencies. They are listed as service providers on several national organizations' Web sites, including Habitat for Humanity, The Georgia Center for Nonprofits, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, and on the Henry County Web site under Community Services. Clearly, they enjoy support and guidance from many of these organizations, including the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, which exists to support, guide, and train nonprofit organizations such as the PRC.