By Kasey Fowler, Staff Writer
Pregnancy and raising a child a child for the first time can be scary. Hope Outreach Parenting Ministry is trying to alleviate some of that fear with education.
“There is no preparation for having a baby. Everything else you can go to school or to college to learn to do. With a baby they just put it in your arms and say good luck,” said Ann Price, director of Hope Outreach Parenting Ministry.
The ministry offers mentoring for first-time parents to get ready for a new baby or raise a young child.
“It is for anybody who is going be a parent for the first time. The girls come once a week and meet a mentor. They do a parenting class. The material is pre-written. It comes from professionals like OB/GYNs and nurses,” said Price.
The material for the classes are updated annually, so they are in tune with the times.
“One lesson doesn’t lead to the next. They are individual so they can pick and choose what classes they want to take,” said Price.
Many clients are women on their own, but Price said more fathers are becoming involved.
“We’ve had more and more dads coming to learn, too. We are happy to see that. It means they are invested in their child ... We also have some fathers who come on their own. We have some men to mentor them,” said Price.
Volunteers and the staff conduct mentoring sessions with an average of 65 clients a week. There are three paid employees and about 30 volunteers that conduct the mentoring.
“We do our mentoring one-on-one. It can be hard because we rely on volunteers, but we felt it would be better for the girls. It can be hard to open up in a group session,” said Price.
Glenda Aebi, program coordinator, said volunteers go above and beyond for the clients.
“We can’t say enough about our volunteers. We couldn’t do it without them. We couldn’t do this ministry. If we have other needs outside of here they will be there. They are the hub of this ministry,” said Aebi.
Parents who come for mentoring can earn Mommy Money and Daddy Dollars to shop in Hope Outreach’s store.
“They will be able to provide for their child through learning,” said Price. “It is a very nice baby store. We have people coming in asking to shop in it all the time. We have everything from diapers to baby beds and everything in between. The clothes are donated. Many of them still have tags on them. If they come to us when they first find out they are pregnant they can have a very nice nursery set up by the time the baby comes.”
Price said the ministry is so successful because there is a need, and no one else is filling the need.
“Our program grew so quickly because there isn’t one like it in all of northwest Oklahoma.”
