By Deb Kroon
Review Staff Writer
Could you be pregnant? Is the timing all wrong? Are you alone and scared? These are some of the questions the Helping Hand Pregnancy Center, located at 910 3rd Ave., Worthington, MN, would like to help you answer.
The main function of Helping Hand Pregnancy Center (HHPC) is to provide help to women of any age or ethnicity to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. The people who are involved with the HHPC are concerned, non-judgmental, loving people who want to help make the pregnancy as easy as possible. There are no angels at the Center, just people with a heart for the work, everyday people who care about you. Everything that happens or is talked about at the Helping Hands Pregnancy Center is totally confidental. No money is made from any of the services offered at the Center. They are absolutely free.
HHPC provides self-administered, lab-quality pregnancy tests and medically accurate information if the test is positive. Counselors are on hand to go over options available and to help with the pregnancy and parenting process. Right on the HHPC website there is a lot of information concerning a pregnancy. “We try to encourage our clients to carry the pregnancy through, not to use abortion as one of their options,” said Lee Tinklenberg, a board member of the Helping Hand Pregnancy Center. No matter what option is chosen, the Center is a place to calmly and quietly process the situation, to think things through. It is a place where people just listen. HHPC also provides counseling and advice for the men involved in the pregnancy. Support for the father is important too.
HHPC offers first child care classes to new mothers before the baby is born, The class deals with what to expect during the pregnancy as well as the issues that may come up. There are also classes on parenting skills for any parent, first time or not.
HHPC is not just there for pregnancies, it is there to help handle any family in a crisis situation. “We help out any family with just about anything,” Lee stated. “If a family needs their lawn mowed, for instance,” Lee went on, “we will find a mower for them to use. They will probably have to mow themselves, but we will find someone with a mower to borrow. We have found that if a person is involved with helping himself, they feel better about receiving the help.”
“In the HHP Center we have a ‘store’ where mothers can get essential items for the baby, such as diapers, quilts, bottles, wipes, booties, anything that is a necessity. By attending the classes we offer, a mother can earn points to use in the ‘store’. All of the items are donated by individuals or organizations. We depend on them for these items-especially the diapers. They are in high demand,” Lee and his wife, Elaine explained.
In mid-November, the Helping Hand Pregnancy Center holds it’s annual fund raiser banquet and silent auction. All of the items on the auction are donated by individuals and area businesses. This event, along with donations that come in throughout the year, support the mission of HHPC. “We don’t ask enough,” Lee commented. “When we ask, people are willing to give. You can get just as much of a blessing from giving as you can from doing. Sometimes people or organizations are not in the position to do something, so the giving feels good.” Another fund raiser that has been done is the baby bottle collection. An organization, such as a church, gets baby bottles from HHPC and passes them out to the members. For a certain period of time, the members put their change into the bottles and then they are recollected and the money raised turned in to HHPC. Anyone can donate to the center at any time. It doesn’t have to be a fund raiser to do so.
The Helping Hand Pregnancy Center is governed by a board of directors from the surrounding communities. The board consists of five to nine members. Susan Voehl is the director of the HHPC and responsible for the day to day running of the center. “This year a record number of clients have come through the doors of the Helping Hand Pregnancy Center. The problems seem to keep getting bigger and bigger,” Susan said. “The biggest part of advocacy is the willingness to listen. With the continued growth of our multi-cultural community the need for bilingual counselors is also growing. We just lost ours and are searching for someone to fill the position. It is a part time position, 18-25 hours a week, but it is an important position to have filled.”
The decisions you make today will affect you for the rest of your life. At Helping Hand Pregnancy Center, there is help to answer your questions and provide accurate information so you can make an informed decision. HHPC works on a completely confidential level. If you need to contact someone for help with a pregnancy or any family problem, please feel free to call at (507)372-2111 or 1-877-791-5475.
