Finally! Some good news among all the dark stuff being pushed around in the wake of Roe v Wade sees this is an amazing leap of faith being done by a group to help mothers no matter their past or what they are going through.
“Pro-life” Schlackman is in charge of a North Texas service called Blue Haven Ranch, which gives support, lodging, and other services to single parents who are pregnant and decide to go through with the pregnancy rather than murder their child. She believes the “unborn” should be saved and have rights just like the rest of us, and that motherhood is a ginormous life-changing event not to be taken lightly.
In the wake of the supreme court’s decision on overturning Roe v Wade, Blue Haven and other Christian-based associations such as Viola’s House in the Dallas-Fort Worth area expect a spike in interest for the nurturing assets, lodging, and emotionally supportive networks needed to help bring up babies.
“While so many are rejoicing over this decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I think they need to take the stance of taking action, too, by stepping in to help our organizations,” said Thana Hickman-Simmons, founder and executive director of Viola’s House in Dallas.
And while the masses yell they need their abortions, and that Christians are the problem and have no solution, we see these organizations stepping up and not only talking the talk but walking the walk. Applications for housing are already spiking over at Viola’s House, a maternity home for mothers ages 18 to 24 who think of themselves as destitute or in danger of vagrancy, and in the wake of the turnover, she anticipates an even bigger lodging emergency.
Viola’s House presently offers five beds for 10 inhabitants, with each bed supporting a single parent and one child for as long as half a year. The new condo units will be accessible for them for up to a full year and will accommodate moms with multiple children.
Schlackman on the other hand is working hard at expanding her Blue Haven Ranch operation. hoping to grow it from caring for 12 individuals to having access to 124 acres of land fully utilized for the cause.
“I can’t help them all,” Schlackman said. “And I know that’s only 12. I know there are so many more that they just haven’t found us. And I know that will grow.”
The service provided gives lodging, child showers, support groups, meetings paid maternity leave, bible study, farm therapy, and cooked meals – some of which where all the mothers gather together and support one another while cooking a good meal, along with other resources for as long as a year and a half after birth for a single pregnant mother who as of now has a kid, she said.
You might be thinking, well the sentiment is nice, but it’s not enough. Well, Schlackman would agree, and that’s why she and her family as of late moved to Krum, northwest of Denton, and started the long process of purchasing 124 acres of land all for Blue Haven. They are hoping to build a much bigger facility that will house numerous single mothers and their children all while expanding the operations and tending to as many as they possibly can.
There is lots of work to do though as Blue Haven will have until around the end of October to determine if it will be able to utilize the land to construct the ranch which will cost upwards of $3.3 million. However, even while this is being worked on there are still services being provided right now by Blue Haven.
As of now, the organization utilizes a church facility located in Argyle to cook meals for all its members, bible study, and support group meetings. It doesn’t stop there though, the church also offers extra optional services to families, and last week they even came together to throw a birthday party for a third-born child introduced into the program.
“We would never wait until a child needs to be adopted to begin caring for them,” said Bruce Kendrick, director of the church’s Life Initiative program. “And so we don’t want to wait until a woman’s had an abortion or a man’s been involved in that to begin caring for them.”
Buckner said they don’t give references to individuals who want early termination. Instead, the program centers around empowering women and helping them to make the correct choice all while showing that they are not alone and giving them the resources to start strong. This is good news and things are looking up for those who are in need and also for God’s people who are stepping up to the plate and helping their brothers and sisters in Christ out.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News