Since the 2022 abortion ban in the state of TN, triggered by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Hannah’s Hope has experienced a significant increase in the number of pregnant women seeking services who ultimately decide to parent, but do so from a very vulnerable position.  In an effort to respond to this increasing need, our staff applied for a TN Strong Families grant through the State of Tennessee with these goals in mind: to improve maternal health outcomes; reduce the number of children who enter the foster care system; and a continued focus on our longstanding mission of “building healthy families.”  We are so proud that we were awarded grant funding to expand our services to these pregnant mamas who are starting their parenting journey on very shaky ground.  For years, we’ve made referrals to other community resources when we worked with women who made parenting plans.  This grant allows us to continue serving these women, who are parenting until their child reaches the age of two.  We are now able to provide Safe Sleep Kits, Safe Feeding Kits, Car Seats, Developmental Play Kits, Safe Bathing Kits and supplies to support breastfeeding and extend our services through a home visiting program for those who are most vulnerable.  The devil is in the details though, and the grant funding only covers women who we meet when they are pregnant.  We are already encountering women with newborns who are struggling and in need of supplies for safe parenting or additional support and recognize that we will need to work even harder to raise funds from our faithful supporters.  Take a look at this snapshot of what we’ve been able to do in the first 10 weeks of this grant contract:

• Pregnant women served: 52 (6 under the age of 18)
• Baby equipment/furniture items provided to pregnant clients: 136
• Clients provided with food assistance: 2
• Clients provided with utilities assistance: 5
• Clients referred to other organizations/agencies: 23
• Pregnant women provided with individual counseling: 18

Our staff continues to provide non-judgmental pregnancy counseling and adoption services to women who make adoption plans.  Can you help us in our work with mothers who are starting their parenting journey from a very vulnerable place? You can help by donating HERE or using the button below or by purchasing items from our Amazon Wishlist.