Beyond Emergency Services for Expecting Mothers

    Homelessness puts women in adverse situations where they lack safety. When a woman is pregnant and facing homelessness, she experiences even further risks and challenges. In Oregon, there are options and services available to women for pre/post-natal care, but there still isn't enough. Further, for the services that are available, the issue of providing continued, stable support throughout one's pregnancy remains perhaps one of the greatest barriers. If you or I were facing homelessness and were worried about our basic necessities like finding a place to sleep, and accessing food and water, I don't think that transportation to and from set appointments would be at the top of our priority list. It is virtually impossible to ask such a task of an expecting mother facing homelessness when it means abandoning her needs and adding on an entirely new point of stress. 

    In Oregon, organizations like Oregon MothersCare help mothers access low-cost and free services in the community including pregnancy testing, dental care, applying for the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), etc. Another great barrier to services for expecting mothers is a lack of health insurance, which is why Oregon MothersCare helps mothers access services that do not require insurance, but also aims to set them up for success in having an insurance plan to widen their options of care. The service is a wonderful resource, but the issue of transportation and overall stability for women remains the same. This is where different                                                                                       initiatives come into the picture. 

    At Catholic Charities of Oregon, their organization seeks to provide the most vulnerable populations with an inclusive approach which relieves barriers to finding permanent housing and also provides individuals with one-on-one case management, counseling, employment assistance, drop-in services, etc. They even aid with adoption services if mothers wish to choose that route. The organization aims to support  with services that aid individuals throughout their time in the organization's low-cost housing, and continue services for up to a year after leaving the services. The organization takes a-lot of support, including volunteers, donations, and items for basic necessities related to hygiene and other living needs. You can donate items or host a donation drive (link below). 

    While emergency services do aid expecting mothers facing homelessness, it is often only accessed at the time of giving birth. When we incorporate initiative to tackle perpetuated homelessness and provide women with on-site services as well as transportation to services off site, we bridge a gap in care that emergency services struggle to tackle. There is always a way to support these services, either with your time, your ability to donate supplies, or by word of mouth to aid women in reaching these services. Together, we can bridge the gap. 

Host a Donation Drive - Catholic Charities of Oregon (catholiccharitiesoregon.org)

RESOURCES:

Services exist for homeless women who are pregnant, but not enough to meet need - oregonlive.com

About Catholic Charities of Oregon (catholiccharitiesoregon.org)

Oregon MothersCare - Coos Health & Wellness (cooshealthandwellness.org)