FORT SMITH — Heart to Heart Pregnancy Support Center, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, has found its new location has allowed it to expand services and assist almost five times as many clients as it did in 2002.
“Heart to Heart was located on the second floor of Central Mall for 18 years,” director Patti Logan said. “The location was private, but remote and hard to find. Our new location on North Greenwood Avenue has allowed us to serve over 1,500 clients in 2005.”
Heart to Heart Pregnancy Support Center was established as the Central Mall Crisis Pregnancy Center in 1986 after Bishop Andrew J. McDonald asked every parish to help fund crisis pregnancy centers throughout the Diocese of Little Rock.
A committee at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith invited other local churches to join in establishing the center. Heart to Heart is a non-denominational Christian pro-life ministry, supported by Catholics as well as Lutheran, Pentecostal, non-denominational and other local churches.
In its early years, the center was staffed with a counselor and an office manager and equipped to offer only pregnancy testing and counseling. In 2003, the board of directors appointed former board member Patti Logan to direct the center and expand its ministries.
“We decided to offer young mothers things they need — maternity and baby clothes, diapers, strollers and car seats — and to advertise, both to promote our services and to receive more cash, clothing and equipment donations. We have a few small federal grants, but the bulk of our support comes through our Baby Bottle campaign, our annual fund-raising dinner and private contributions,” said Logan, member of Sts. Sabina and Mary Church in Jenny Lind.
At its new location, Heart to Heart has a paid staff of three supported by 11 volunteers, each working one four-hour shift a week.
“Christine Smith teaches ’Earn While You Learn’ Parenting Classes,” Logan said. “Young mothers can ’earn’ cribs, strollers and car seats for their babies through their class attendance. The hands-on classes are taught from a Christian perspective.”
Depending on how many items they need, mothers are required to attend 15-25 classes, which give them up-to-date information on parenting skills, medical and safety education, and one-to-one support to give them the confidence they need to be effective parents.
Of the 1,500 clients Heart to Heart served in 2005, only 329 came for pregnancy testing. The center was well equipped to help the 111 young women whose tests were positive to continue their pregnancies to term. In addition to providing group and individual counseling, Heart to Heart networks with other community resources to help women with housing, food, employment and adoption and medical referrals.
Heart to Heart also counsels women who have had abortions, offering ways to experience spiritual healing and forgiveness.
In 2005, 770 clients visited the center to receive maternity items, and 356 attended parenting classes.
Heart to Heart also offers chastity classes taught by Theresa Reeves, director of client services and a member of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith. “True Choices” teach young women that they can begin making better choices about love and sex even if they have made poor decisions in the past.
Volunteer Dodie Gremillion runs a prayer network for Heart to Heart.
“You can’t do this ministry without prayer,” Logan said. “Without God’s help it doesn’t go. He is the true director of the center.”
The Fort Smith center can be reached by calling (479) 452-2260 or visiting www.hearttoheartpsc.com.