Heart Reach Alaska: Offering women empowerment, compassion, and care

Facing a pregnancy, whether planned or unplanned, whether as a teenager or as a mother with children, can be stressful, and there are a host of decisions to make. When looking for options that inform, guide, and empower women, Heart Reach Center (HRC) in Wasilla offers a safe and compassionate place for women, and men, to go for help.

In a beautiful building and comfortable setting that feels more like a home than a clinic, expectant mothers and fathers are more than simply patients, as Executive Director Joyce Moropoulos explains.

“We have lots of different conversations here,” explains Moropoulos, standing outside one of the counseling rooms. The meditative vibe allows mothers and fathers caught in the throes of chaos and turmoil to have non-judgmental discussions about their options.

“We want to be a safe place for some of our women who are in chaotic situations and have to have heavy discussions about their options.”

Safety is a top priority at HRC, from the moment a woman walks into their facility, if she feels threatened or in any kind of danger, HRC is able to find ways for a woman to reach out and ensure she is safe while navigating her health and family options.

Beyond the safety, care and compassion is of the utmost priority for Moropoulos, her staff, and the partners within the community. One of the community partners she is proud to partner with is Nurse Family Partnership, which provides someone to walk beside the mother through not just prenatal care and delivery, but beyond with postnatal aftercare.

“A nurse will come beside a mom and be there for 2 years for her. They can call, talk, meet for coffee, ask any question. It is just a wonderful, incredible thing for the clients.”

Later this year, HRC will be partnering with My House out of Wasilla with a medical mobile unit to provide similar services to their facility.

“We can take it (the medical mobile unit) to the people at My House and do pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, and STI/STD testing. We are very excited to provide this for them.”

All of the services that HRC provides are free, including the over 2000 classes that clients can choose from, starting with healthy pregnancy, what to expect in your body, parenting, or co-parenting. Classes are offered via livestream with the HRC mentors, and also via DVD.

A bonus to the classes is that clients earn “credit” for each class they take, which in turn can be used at the HRC Market.

“It’s really good for the parents as an incentive-based program. Clients earn ‘points’ for something as little as showing up on time, bringing a re-usable shopping bag, doing ‘homework,’ and completing anything community that they do to improve themselves,” says Moropoulos.

The HRC Market has everything moms (and dads) need for babies-clothes, diapers, wipes, formula. Donations of new and gently used items from the community come in to HRC year-round.

“We have donors that are just incredible, many have been through this too,” she said.

HRC doesn’t just work with women who are expecting, but also work with clients from OCS who are working hard to gain their children back. They have the opportunity to take classes as well and earn certificates and help work to improve their situations.

HRC serves men, too, offering mentor services and family plan assistance to new fathers, parenting classes, support and reassurance that the role of ‘dad’ is just as important as mom.

“Our fathers are some of our strongest advocates,” says Sophia Logan, HRC Community Outreach, reflecting on the journey many of the fathers make with HRC.

“Some of the men might not have had anyone to show them any sort of positive skills. But to hear them say ‘I can do this, I just needed the tools and that advocate behind me’ makes this such a unique program,” said Logan.

“It is incredible to walk with those fathers through this whole journey,” adds Moropoulos.

Other services HRC provides includes confidential testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and diseases, from licensed medical professionals. HRC has a nurse on staff to provide testing and ultrasounds, along with a Physician’s Assistant. HRC also has on staff a Fatherhood manager and an army of mentors who have years of experience they share with the clients.

Recognizing that there can be pressure and stress with an unplanned pregnancy, HRC offers an array of counseling for clients that range from infertility issues to unplanned pregnancy and family planning options, including abortion and adoption, and even counseling if a woman has gone through an abortion.

“You need to go through a healing, a recovery class, even if you don’t think you do, it can really do some good to go through the process,” advised Moropoulos.

At the core of what HRC strives to provide is to empower clients, make available resources, and provide support no matter what path families choose.

“You can do this. We can stand with you, we can help you, we can give you the resources to walk you through this process.”

For more information or to contact Hear Reach Center, visit their website at heartreachalaska.com