CAMDENTON – A young woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy has questions, needs, and struggles with the next turn. The Pregnancy Help Center (PHC) of Camdenton, and now Versailles, offers solutions.
“The Lord put these girls on my heart,” Teresa Faber, director of PHC, said. “My husband pastored for 25 years, and we took young girls who were struggling with unplanned pregnancies and helped them.”
Now, Faber’s husband, Timothy, is the Missouri Baptist Convention’s legislative liaison and the Director of Missions for the Lake of the Ozarks Baptist Association.
“It was actually my husband,” Faber said, “who brought home a Pathway that listed the position and recognized in 2017 that this job matched with my desire for ministry to young women.
Teresa Faber, executive director of the Pregnancy Help Centers in Camdenton and Versailles
“These young ladies come to us with educational and emotional needs,” she continued. “We want to equip them with the skills to choose life.”
Faber talked about the classes that are offered to these young women. “We offer the Bright Course curriculum which is online and gives them an opportunity to earn while they learn,” she said. “By completing the classes, doing homework and extras, they earn mommy bucks to shop in our Baby Boutique.” The classes include prenatal, parenting, life skills and Bible study.
It was the mommy bucks that helped Faber identify a need for the Versailles location. “I noticed that the moms from that area were not shopping with their earnings,” she said. “When I talked with them, I discovered that since Versailles was about an hour drive time from Camdenton, the girls were not coming in to shop at Baby Boutique.”
The Baby Boutique is organized into gently used items and brand-new baby items. According to Faber, the young women can select from the gently used items free of charge, and the new items cost them the mommy bucks. The merchandise in the Baby Boutique comes from the donations from the community and churches. Many of the groups choose to give Baby Showers for the PHC.
“A year and three months ago, we opened the Versailles location,” Faber continued. “I live between the two sites. We rent a home that we are renovating to expand the services. The owners are pro-life, and they can’t wait to see it completed.”
In addition to the classes, PHC offers several other services. “We provide free pregnancy tests as well as free limited first trimester ultrasounds,” Faber said. “The Versailles location is being renovated so that we can add the ultrasound service there.”
The PHC is also plugged into a state program, Alternatives to Abortion (A2A). “This program offers services to help young ladies carry their unborn child to term,” Faber said, “instead of having an abortion.”
“Ninety to 95-percent of the girls in this area say that they consider abortion because of financial reasons,” Faber continued. “This program helps us with jobs, housing, transportation and many other necessities for these women to get on their feet and carry to term.”
Faber outlined the eligibility requirements for the program. “The young lady must choose to carry the child to term instead of having an abortion, and they must be in the low-income bracket, making at or below 185% of the federal poverty level.”
PHC has served women with faith-based resources and services that address the spiritual, physical, educational, and emotional needs of pregnant and single mothers. The testimonials on the PHC website point to the many ways that the PHC is carrying out its mission. More information is available on the website: phclozpartners.com.