San Luis Valley Women’s Resource Center

Helen Smith
The Paw Print

Tuesday, January 22 marks the fortieth anniversary of the passing of Roe v. Wade in the United States Supreme Court. Since then, two generations have grown up with legalized abortion in America.

Many unmarried, pregnant mothers do not know that there is help available for them. There are hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S. designed just for those who don’t know where to turn and need a helping hand or a listening ear. Often, these centers can play a role in the decision to keep a child. One such place is Alamosa’s own San Luis Valley Women’s Resource Center.

Mrs. Jeaneen McLaren, a longtime advocate for the SLV Women’s Resource Center, shared some information on this program. There have been many positive outcomes from the center’s establishment. The center offers the San Luis Valley an alternative to Planned Parenthood, giving women more options. SLV Women’s Resource center started out only able to provide pregnancy testing and counseling. The center now has many resources to offer.

According to director Cheri Crowder, the mission of the SLV Women’s Resource Center is to act as a non-profit, confidential organization that “honor[s], uphold[s] and promote[s] the sanctity of human life.”  All services are free and confidential. In addition to pregnancy testing and counseling, the centers has ultrasounds available.

Education is the primary method by which the center operates. The goal of the SLV Women’s Resource Center is to inform clients of what their options are in order to make a sound decision. The center offers parenting programs and has clothing for infants on hand. Other programs include abstinence education in schools, programs for fathers and free STD testing as well as connections with adoption agencies.  The result is that clients come away with knowledge of their options and the consequences of each before making their decision.

McLaren states that the center is always in need of financial support and volunteers. The more people get involved, the wider the vision becomes.

The center began with a core group of around eight people including Mrs. McLaren and her husband, Gary, who returned from working at a pregnancy center in Evergreen, Colo. feeling that God had called them to the San Luis Valley to help establish a crisis pregnancy center. The center is located on the west end of Alamosa in the Villa Mall. For more information, contact the San Luis Valley Women’s Resource Center at (719)589-6698 or go to www.slvwrc.org.