Advokate now runs two Hope for Women sites
The B.C. Catholic
LANGLEY
A new pregnancy care centre has just popped up in the heart of downtown Langley.
Hope for Women, complete with two private counselling rooms and stocked with baby clothing, was officially opened Sept. 17.
“Our desire has been to empower women and to remind them that they are valuable,” said longtime pro-lifer Cathy Hetzler.
She said centres like Hope for Women exist to provide information and a safety net to women who are struggling financially or feeling abandoned by parents, partner, or friends when they find themselves unexpectedly pregnant.
“One surprising common phrase heard in these circumstances is: ‘I have no choice.’ What a hopeless statement! Our goal is to give hope.”
Hope for Women began taking clients in July, but was officially opened Sept. 17.
It is run by Advokate Life and Education Services, formerly known as Abbotsford Right to Life, and is that organization’s second pregnancy care centre. Advokate opened its first Hope for Women in Abbotsford in 2013.
“Hope for Women is here to meet pregnant women where they are at in their time of need, in their unplanned or crisis pregnancies, to provide them with real options: options counselling, tangible resources, and true, non-judgmental friendship,” said Jared White, the executive director of Advokate.
“We also exist to give a leg up to the low-income mothers in our community with diapers, formula, car seats, and other things a mother might need.”
About 60 people attended the grand opening, escaping pouring rain under temporary tents just off the popular one-way section of Fraser Highway.
Among them were several local politicians expressing their support of the neighbourhood’s new pregnancy care centre.
“I believe the services you offer have great value, and I am pleased with the non-judgmental philosophy that is incorporated into the delivery of those services,” said Langley mayor Ted Schaffer, who came with city councillors Jack Arnold and Rudy Storteboom.
“Certainly life can bring unexpected surprises, and I am sure that those who find themselves faced with these momentous and incredible situations will be grateful to have a place that is safe to turn to.”
Liberal MLA Mary Polak, whose office is just around the corner, said she was grateful to see Hope for Women open in Langley.
“No amount of information, no nice office, no great location, no great advertising, can replace what is essentially the element you’re going to provide. It’s that right word at the right time. It’s the hug at the right time. It’s the hope,” Polak said.
“It’s making sure that that young lady, who took every bit of courage she had to walk in the door that morning, comes away feeling like: ‘I’m not in this by myself. Somebody’s going to help me. It’s not just scary. It’s also something good that’s going to come out of this.'”
Advokate president Michael Horner urged supporters, politicians, and neighbours to let Langley women know they have a place to turn to.
“We care about the inherent value, worth, and dignity of every human being. That includes, obviously, the mother and the baby,” he said.
“Spread the word, so any woman in Langley who is having difficulty will know this is a place she can come and get the facts and get compassion and love.”
More information is available at www.hopeforwomen.ca.
