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Early afternoon sunlight is streaming through an upstairs window in the home on Ash Street as Sharon Hengy reflects on the daily opportunity to bring warmth into the lives of others.
Hengy works here at the Life Services maternity home as the residential services director, helping expectant mothers prepare for the birth of their children. The four-level dwelling includes a large kitchen, rec room and living room. Each resident has her own bedroom and bathroom.
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| Sharon Hengy worked as the programs manager for the Spokane Valley Community Center for six years before moving on to Life Services last March. In her role as residential services director, Hengy helps facilitate the Life Services maternity home. Photo by: Craig Howard |
Beyond the amenities, Hengy said the home is about radiating support and “a family atmosphere.” A group dinner is part of the agenda every night. The schedule also includes arts and crafts, hiking and movie nights. Every other week, a parenting class is held.
“The whole basis is to teach them what a healthy family is like,” Hengy said. “It’s neat to have them see how a real family can function.”
A staff of five works at the maternity home providing counseling and case management. Residents either attend school, work or sign up with a program called WorkFirst that provides training and help with employment skills. Monthly rent of $200 covers food and board, although grants are available and no prospective resident is ever turned away for inability to pay.
The maternity home is part of a range of programs at Life Services which began in 1991 as a Christian-based ministry known as the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Spokane. The nonprofit agency, Hengy said, emphasizes “a focus on hope.”
Residents at the maternity home are assisted with a wide range of tasks, including transportation to medical appointments as well as learning how to budget and cook healthy meals. Hengy said the house parents who work at the home provide a valuable quantity of consistent encouragement.
“They really walk alongside them and speak positively into their lives,” she said. “If they stumble, they’re right there to help them back up.”
Life Services also works with the birth fathers who are invited over for activities like barbeques and game nights.
“We talk about the importance of respecting the mother and baby,” Hengy said.
For over six years, Hengy worked as the programs manager for the Spokane Valley Community Center – now Spokane Valley Partners – managing the volunteer corps and coordinating a variety of annual events. Although she misses her work in the Valley, Hengy said the move to Life Services has been a good one.
“I’ve seen some awesome things happen here,” Hengy said. “Certainly there are trials and challenges – but the rewards far surpass those.”
Annette Miller, executive director of Life Services, said Hengy has brought “a kind heart, vision and knowledge” to the agency.
“Sharon is so well-grounded and giving,” Miller said. “She is able to help our patrons find assistance and help them envision possibilities and hope. She’s just a very caring friend to everyone here.”
In addition to the maternity home, Life Services provides free pregnancy tests – including ultrasound – early prenatal care and help accessing financial assistance and other social services as well as clothing and furnishings for mothers and their babies. A photograph of the ultrasound is provided as part of the pregnancy test.
“They can see the baby in the womb, see that they are alive and viable,” Hengy said.
Hengy also coordinates the agency’s after-care program, working with mothers and their children to secure resources like housing, health-care and education. Life Services offers a foster care program that ensures mothers and their children will have a place to stay after leaving the maternity home.
“The after-care provides a way to develop a safety net of relationships so these women have someone they can go to when they need help,” Hengy said.
The three Life Services I-Choice clinics – located in Spokane, Cheney and in Spokane Valley on Pines Road – emphasize “life-affirming choices,” Miller said. The clinics also provide testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Most services are provided free of charge.
Another program called I-Pulse focuses on teaching adolescents the benefits of waiting until marriage to be sexually active. Staff and volunteers visit area schools, church and civic groups with messages of prevention and education.
A program known as I-Path works with women and men dealing with the aftereffects of abortion in an individual and/or support group setting.
“I-Path works to restore lives after something that devastating,” Hengy said. “It’s about providing that healing that God brings.”
In her first year with the agency, Hengy said she has seen on a day-to-day basis “how compassion and caring can truly change lives.”
“No one is a lost case,” she said. “No matter how dim the situation may look – it can be turned around with love.”
Want to find out more?
To find out more about Life Services, call 327-0701. The Spokane Valley clinic is located at 1014 N. Pines Road, Suite 201 and can be reached by calling 891-2850.
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By
Craig Howard
