ACCESS van hits the road

   On the road.
   That’s where ACCESS Pregnancy and Referral’s new mobile unit was unveiled Nov. 19 in front of the Holy Angels Congregational Center in Bywater.
 
  Four days a week, ACCESS will situate its 35-foot-long “office on wheels” at various locations around town to offer free and confidential pregnancy services and resources such as ultrasound, four-minute pregnancy testing and any pregnancy and adoption-related services. Those services include prenatal nutrition and diet information, parenting and birthing classes and videos, doctor referrals and even the Safe Haven law.
   ACCESS distributes free diapers and baby wipes through its diaper bank every month and layette baskets for new mothers. The mobile unit also will assist individuals in filling out Medicaid applications.
   “Anything that we can do at our bricks-and-mortar location, we can do here,” 
said Michelle Black, ACCESS director.
   Through Dec. 12, the unit will be parked 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 
Holy Angels Congregational Center, 3500 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans
, on Tuesdays; South Claiborne at Cadiz Street in New Orleans, near the Salvation Army headquarters on Wednesdays; and at Hope Haven, 1101 Barataria Blvd., in Marrero, on Thursdays.
   The South Claiborne Avenue location is no accident. Planned Parenthood is preparing to build a $4.2 million regional abortion facility in the 4600 block of Claiborne in which Planned Parenthood intends to perform abortions for the first time in Louisiana.
   “We know that’s where we need to be – to be that life presence in stark contrast to their presence,” Black said. “We wanted to be close to where abortions are conducted.”
How bus was built
   The van was designed from the ground up, using tips Black gained from touring other, similar mobile units. It is fashioned with three separate spaces that can be made private, including an intake area; a central area with a bathroom, additional seating and video equipment; and a third space with an exam table area where ultrasounds are performed.
   There’s also an awning that, on nice days, can be opened, providing a convenient space to distribute literature.
   “We designed it to fit our needs,” Black said.
   The staff – Elaine Parra, RDMS, who is both driver and sonographer; and Linda D’Aquila who conducts the pregnancy tests and assists with Medicaid applications –
nicknamed the pink office on wheels “MABEL,” for “Mothers Always Bring Extra Love.”
   The name coincides with the mission of ACCESS, which is to offer compassion while helping women make well-informed choices in their lives.
   “We thought it would be great to go to underserved locations,” Black said. “We want to remove barriers so pregnant women could take advantage of all of our services.”
   Parra thinks being in a variety of neighborhoods will educate more women on their bodies, pregnancies and raising children.
   “We are hoping that the information we are giving them, they will take home, digest it and be able to stand on their own two feet as stronger women who make better decisions,” Parra said.
   She said she knows from experience how an ultrasound can change a woman’s mind about abortion. When a pregnant woman sees an ultrasound and hears the heartbeat of her baby, it makes the baby real, she said.
   “We’ve had parents (especially of younger, pregnant women) come back and talk to us,” Parra said. “At some point, they have to realize that this is their reality now, and it’s not the end of the world. Coming here is the first step.”
    
As long as a pregnancy  
   Black said it took as long for the van to be completed as it does a pregnancy – almost 10 months at a cost of $179,000. Of that total, Louisiana Right to Life and its New Orleans branch donated $100,000. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and donors chipped in another $100,000. The first year of operating expenses, estimated at approximately $25,000, is included in the $200,000.
   “It’s been a labor; a long time coming,” she said. A blessing of the unit will be held in early 2014.
   In addition to taking it around the city, New Orleans Right to Life will drive the ACCESS unit to high schools where students can learn of its services, see an ultrasound, learn about fetal development, get an understanding of challenges that women in crisis pregnancies have and, hopefully strengthen their belief in human life.
   “I think it will be an amazing experience for teens to see a baby moving,” Black said. “It’s hard to deny life when you see that. We believe it will be an impactful moment to do that. To talk about what we do and to show it to others.”
   ACCESS Pregnancy & Referral Center is located at 921 Aris Ave., suite 8, Metairie, and is open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 832-1503 or email contactus@accesspregnancy.com. The ACCESS mobile unit phone number is 427-1278.
            Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarionherald.org.