Cumberland Crisis Pregnancy Center

Programs: The pregnancy program of the ccpc helps young women involved in unplanned pregnancies that are often alone and feel very vulnerable and afraid. If a client is pregnant, ccpc counselors compassionately present the information on parenting, adoption, and abortion. Loving support is provided to each client, and we see the power of fear broken. This allows the client to make a pregnancy plan based on worth, hope, and love. Because we value all life, we never refer for abortion. Clients who have a negative pregnancy test are counseled about underlying emotional issues and sti's. The ccpc provides social support (material, informational, and emotional) to clients, and they are given access to resources that are necessary during this time of stress and life-transition. We provide in-depth, peer-counseling from the first appointment to years after the baby is born, as well as prenatal and parenting classes, educational scholarships, mentoring, bible studies, and referrals, thereby reducing maternal anxiety. This same compassionate support is extended to the client's family, the father of the baby, and his family as well. The ccpc also provides essentials like maternity and baby clothes, diapers, formula, pack and plays, and car seats to help meet the physical needs of our clients which help reduce general emotional distress. This is a ministry of presence - being present with those who are vulnerable or broken so that they can know the healing presence and love of christ. The majority of ccpc clients are low-wealth teens and single young women. The majority are from abusive situations. These young women and their babies are among the most vulnerable members of society. Young women who are economically and socially disadvantaged are particularly at risk during pregnancy and these risks can lead to increased infant mortality. These factors/risks are present in many ccpc clients and include low birth weight babies, preterm births, lack of prenatal care, and mothers with less than a high school education. For 28 years the ccpc has been serving this community with the commitment to love our clients unconditionally. They are not projects or statistics. They are people of great worth. We are committed to walking with them long-term---even years after the child is born which allows us to continue to have a positive impact on their general sense of self-worth and psychological well-being. In calendar year 2014, the ccpc staff served 1340 clients through 3,556 visits in our pregnancy program. Many who felt hopeless and afraid experienced love, real presence, compassion and very practical care. 100% of those evaluated felt genuinely loved, understood, and cared for. Love and genuine care enabled 99% of our evaluated pregnant clients to feel better equipped to make a decision regarding their pregnancy. The power of fear was often broken. 864 babies and/or their moms received maternity and baby clothes and other essential baby items. 335 clients took either prenatal or parenting classes at the ccpc equipping them to emotionally and physically better parent their child.

the sexual risk avoidance program presents truth to the community in public and private middle and high schools, civic groups and other venues. The mission of the program is to present honest and accurate information, primarily regarding sexuality and relationships, while also correcting misconceptions that teens and adults have come to believe about sex, love, and many other topics. The sexual risk avoidance program educates teens and adults about the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of sexual activity outside of a permanently committed relationship while encouraging sexual abstinence until marriage. The program works to present this information in an age-appropriate format without straying from well- documented and medically accurate information that directly impacts students. The goal of the sexual risk avoidance program is to impact the hearts, minds and lives of students to the point that their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are changed. The sexual risk avoidance program is specifically designed to impact 6th-12th grade students through in-depth classroom presentations and school assemblies. The classroom presentations, which range between one and five-days in length, allow for detailed discussions regarding topics such as respect for oneself and others and extending into thorough discourse about healthy and unhealthy relationships, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the difference between love and sex. The sexual risk avoidance program encourages students to choose abstinence until marriage by presenting these truths and others in a methodical and relevant manner. According to post-talk surveys conducted after classroom presentations in sumner county in 2014, 90% of both high school students and middle school students who were sexually active in 2014 indicated that they would change their behavior and become abstinent until marriage after hearing the sexual risk avoidance program presentations. During 2014, 540 presentations were made to 17,783 students and adults.

through our abortion recovery program, we seek to minister healing to those who have experienced abortion. Our safe and confidential in-depth peer- counseling program aids in the healing process. Many men and women experience painful, long-term emotional and/or spiritual issues after being involved in an abortion. Those suffering from post-abortion stress may exhibit long-term grief, anger, guilt, flashbacks, suicidal thoughts, increased alcohol and drug use, as well as difficulty maintaining close relationships. They may feel like no one will understand if they tell about what happened. They often feel afraid to tell anyone for fear of being shamed or rejected. We value the life of each man or woman who comes, for help and healing. We do not judge or condemn, but instead we share the love of christ. Our program walks people through the process of understanding and accepting god's forgiveness and immense love.