“I came from out of state with no family and Life Connections became my support. They helped me mentally prepare for my daughter with classes and unconditional support and advice. They helped me grow into a better person.”— Cherish
“I really appreciate this blanket. Thank you.” — Isaac, a first-time dad
“Life can be tough sometimes and it’s nice to have somewhere to turn to. We need more of these places.” — MB
“I could see myself volunteering here in the future.” — Angela
Sharing God’s love through Life Connections and other programs has made these new families feel supported and valued.
Life Connections is a pregnancy resource center in Alexandria which has programs to assist women who are pregnant and families with children from newborn to age 5 in challenging circumstances. They provide resources like car seats, maternity and baby clothing, diapering supplies, safe sleep equipment and other baby needs. Life Connections also includes new fathers.
Heartbeats, their emergency assistance program, helps families in crisis with gas and/or food cards as well as financial assistance to avoid homelessness or utility shutoffs. The agency offers classes, with topics ranging from prenatal care, labor and delivery to parenting support such as breastfeeding, safe sleep, Red Cross-certified CPR, car seat safety and financial planning or coaching. A support group for moms, MomTalk, meets weekly.
While they offer a wide range of practical items, the most crucial things volunteers offer are their giftsof listening and love for their clients. That stems from the dedication and compassion of their volunteers.
Julie Desautels and Sara Anderson are two volunteers for Life Connections and also serve on the Sanctity of Life group at St. Mary Parish in Alexandria.
For more than 30 years, Julie has been an advocate helping struggling families over pregnancy — as a volunteer, car seat technician, CPR trainer, mentor and board member. Sara, the president of Life Connections’ board of directors, has volunteered for three years and is also a car seat technician, mentor and financial coach.
Sara said, “Many moms are in a dark place. We meet them where they’re at and walk alongside them, whether to help them with housing or to get access to healthy food or baby supplies. Just giving them a phone number doesn’t help enough. Sometimes they aren’t comfortable making calls themselves, so together we call to get the services they need. That’s the true intention of support. When welcoming a new client to Life Connections, we ask if we can pray together for whatever problems they are dealing with. I tell them I’m here to help them because God has put me here today.”
Assisting families in need has impacted their lives as well.
Julie said, “Once I attended the birth of a stillborn — and saw that mother experience great love and care at the hospital. It humbled me. People from different cultures and backgrounds expand my horizons and make the world smaller — that’s eye-opening. I’m less judgmental about people with a different life story. And I’m astounded at the generosity of our community.”
Life Connections is supported by financial contributions from St. Mary’s, the Knights of Columbus in Alexandria, Brandon and Millerville and by multiple Christian churches and volunteers and donors throughout the Alexandria area.
“What strikes me is there’s much more brokenness than I could imagine,” Sara added. “But these new parents are resilient. I learn from them how to listen and not judge. We can’t solve all their problems, but we can show compassion, inspired by Pope Francis, who urges us to be ‘islands of mercy in a sea of indifference.’”
Sara described the structure of Life Connections as more focused on physical needs of a pregnant mom or baby, like clothing, diapers and wipes, car seats. “We also have access to different funds for emergency assistance, like if the electricity is shut off, or a woman doesn’t have enough gas money to get to her doctor,” she said.
Julie said, “When women call in to Life Connections, they don’t need to prove they are qualified to receive items or information. We welcome every new parent. Maybe they need the basics. Or maybe they just need just a friend to help or listen — everybody needs love and prayers.”
Walking With Moms in Need: A celebration and a new initiative
This year, Life Connections, which started as Birthright in 1975 and transitioned to Life Connections in 2018, will celebrate 50 years of service to increase awareness of the opportunities to serve. St. Mary’s Sanctity of Life group is spearheading “Walking with Moms in Need,” a new nationwide United States Conference of Catholic Bishops program for parish volunteers to support pregnant women with prayer and mentoring. It will launch June 1. The theme of the event is “Half a Century of Hope — Shaping the Future, Saving Lives.”
Julie said, “Walking with Moms in Need gives our Sanctity of Life group an exciting new vision with more direct outreach. We’re one of the first parishes in our diocese to organize this. It also gives our parish more tools if someone calls for help. We hope that one of us on the team will work with the callers directly.”
Janet Dusek, the director of the diocesan Office of Marriage and Family, said, “One of the steps before launching the Walking with Moms in Need initiative is to inventory local resources. Our office assisted parishes with this by creating an ‘Office of Marriage and Family Resource Guide’ listing national, state and diocesan resources with the idea that parishes would already have a list of local resources from their respective communities.”
The volunteers in Alexandria inventoried their own resources and produced WWMIN guides for each of Douglas, Otter Tail and Pope counties to be distributed to parish staff and volunteers.
“Walking with Moms in Need isn’t meant to replace the pregnancy resource centers in our diocese, rather it is a parish-based initiative meant to increase support for pregnant and parenting mothers in need through awareness, prayer and accompaniment from its parishioners. This support will look different in each ACC depending on the volunteers who step forward to offer their gifts of time and talent to fill the gap that a pregnancy resource center may not be able to provide,” Janet said.
She added, “I am encouraged at how the WWMIN initiative is being embraced by Sara and her team at St. Mary Parish in Alexandria. Their enthusiasm and witness to serving others is inspiring.”
Pictured above: Sara Anderson, left, and Julie Desaultes wait for clients in the reception area at Life Connections in Alexandria. (Dianne Towalski / The Central Minnesota Catholic)
To learn more about Walking with Moms in Need, visit walkingwithmoms.com.