Hope Is Mobile

HOPEIs Mobile

A unique benefit The HOPE Center is able to offer to women is its Image Clear Ultrasound (ICU) mobile unit. As the name suggests, this RV-style medical center on wheels allows The HOPE Center to bring services directly to pregnant women in the metro Atlanta area.

The mobile project began back in 2013, soon after The HOPE Center’s Executive Director and Nurse Manager boarded an Image Clear Ultrasound Mobile unit at the national Care Net conference, and right after Nina Dofflemyer graduated from college. Nina had completed two internships with The HOPE Center, and she was ready to step into a new role as the Mobile Coordinator.

The ICU Mobile headquarters in Akron, Ohio offered great support. They did collaborative site planning, identifying local areas with the highest numbers of abortions and finding nearby parking lots where they could set up the unit. Once site planning was complete, the team went to Ohio for more in-depth training and to collect their mobile unit. They drove it all the way back to Atlanta, and were thrilled to finally see it parked behind the center. They couldn’t wait to get rolling.

The HOPE Center’s mobile team kept track not only of how many women they were reaching, but also how vulnerable these women were to considering abortion. They continued to refine the site selection process to reach the most underserved areas. Currently, the mobile unit is primarily active in Fulton County, Georgia. In 2020, the county’s overall abortion rate was 16.7%. But in the particular zip codes that the mobile unit serves, it’s 33%. This figure is tragically high, but it has allowed the team to see where their services are needed most.

Alicia Davis took over as Mobile Unit Operations

Coordinator in 2019, after being one of the original client advocates on the mobile unit. Alicia loves overseeing the mobile ministry, which continues to offer the same services that Options Medical Clinic provides, but brings the services directly to the women of metro Atlanta who otherwise wouldn’t be able to visit The HOPE Center in Woodstock.

In addition to pregnancy testing, the mobile unit team offers ultrasounds to help determine if a pregnancy is viable and to date the pregnancy. They also offer options information, decision support, and resources. Women who access these services are typically surprised and grateful to learn that these services are free. The free services pave the way for the client advocates to build relationships built on trust. In fact, Alicia says, “We know that we’re serving and loving well when we have women come back to us even if they chose to have the abortion. They know we are championing them to choose life, but also know that we will still welcome them with open arms if they choose to abort.”

The team continues to offer post-abortive women emotional and spiritual resources, and support to encourage their healing. And of course, they offer needed support to women who choose life. They have begun to offer virtual parenting classes similar to what is available at the brick and mortar office in Woodstock.

These virtual “Earn While You Learn” visits are being faithfully overseen by Sylvia Comer, a former mobile unit advocate, who is currently engaged in higher education for Christian counseling. Sylvia has steeped herself in prayer and in the Word, and as a result brings a calming effect along with a distinctly Biblical perspective into every conversation she has with the mobile clients. Visits with Sylvia are available to Earn While You Learn clients up until the baby’s 2nd birthday. Each visit brings the opportunity to earn diapers, wipes, and other needed items.

In addition, the mobile team is also on the lookout for local churches to partner in a variety of ways including: mentors for new moms, women’s groups to throw baby showers, post-partum support, and physical space in which groups can meet. Alicia hopes to see local mom groups form that will give women community and support right where they live, as well as provide volunteer opportunities for many of the clients who have expressed an interest in giving back to the community.

The mobile unit team typically looks for areas they can return to week-after-week. This lets them build relationships within the communities they serve, and be a predictable presence whenever women need them. A new and exciting opportunity for the mobile team is its partnership with student-led ministries and organizations on Kennesaw State University’s campus.

Through these partnerships, the mobile unit serves the campus one day a week. Alicia concludes, “I still feel really humbled and honored when people allow us to share space with them in those really hard moments of their lives. To me, that’s what Jesus is all about. He came to us. He came to our space and occupied the space with us. That’s what I love about the Mobile going to women.”