LIGHTHOUSE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER INC

Lighthouse operated four centers full time in 2023 with a staff up to 26, and over 150 volunteers who donated a total of 10,372 hours of service. The fourth center, which serves as lighthouse's headquarters, opened in December 2020. A group program,"Birth of a Family", was launched there in 2021 to guide parents toward marriage and stronger families. The Center's free services fall into three categories: prevention, intervention and restoration. Intervention, the primary focus, includes reaching out to those who are facing unexpected pregnancies with compassionate support to make life choices possible, and ensure parents are equipped to care for their newborns.The Center's support typically begins with an ultrasound to medically confirm pregnancy and provide parents with a loving first look at their unborn child.INTERVENTION: In 2023, Lighthouse provided 1,120 ultrasounds, along with emotional, spiritual, and material support to parents preparing to welcome a newborn. Lighthouse celebrated the births of over 550 babies to moms they served, and the Center's material aid, educational support, and mentoring assisted 674 parents who were alone, young, under-resourced or uninsured as they faced an unplanned pregnancy. Those coming regularly to become well-prepared parents "earned" points to redeem in the Center's PREP Shoppe for baby care essentials such as diapers and wipes, clothing, and cribs. This ongoing support led to a total of 8,076 individual appointments. Most of these were with women and men who found lighthouse on the Internet or by word of mouth, with over 2,600 individuals reaching out to us through "help" calls, texts or emails. Nearly half of all our services are provided in spanish.Our Paterson Center- which opened in 2015 to serve our state's third largest and one of its most needy cities- features two strategic collaborations. The first is with RENEW Life Center, a nonprofit that subleases space with Lighthouse in Paterson to extend additional life-transforming support that helps parents overcome generational poverty. Since 2015, over 180 women and men have graduated from RENEW's "Getting Ahead and Jobs for Life" programs and have obtained significant employment or continued their education. Our shared goal for the Center is to help parents thrive-not just survive-after choosing life for their children. Another collaborative program is YoungLives Greater Paterson, an outreach that shares the hope of the gospel and practical help with teen moms. In partnership with Young Life, Lighthouse hosts pregnant and parenting teens once a month for a youth group-like Club, and for mentoring and other supportive activities. Our group has helped birth two other groups in the Tri-State area. Fathers are not forgotten as we have two full-time male staff and a number of faithful male volunteers to mentor and encourage men who want to become involved, responsible dads. The Center's Hackensack location is utilized up to 5 days a week, serving a similar number of men and women to Paterson, but in half the space! Lighthouse also provides pregnancy confirmation, parenting and STD services in Wayne using donated professional office space on Hamburg Turnpike.PREVENTION: Lighthouse provides free screening for two Bacterial STDS (Chlamydia and gonorrhea) that are most prevalent among young adults. In addition to providing sexual health and sexual integrity counsel on-site, the Center's REALife Relationship and Love Training program provided interactive presentations in local schools and church youth groups, guiding over 2,734 students to healthier relationships.RESTORATION: Abortion recovery care groups and individual peer counseling sessions helped women and men of all ages to heal emotionally and spiritually from past abortions. In 2023, 227 individuals benefited from this support.NEXT STEPS: Lighthouse has been utilizing all of its new Hawthorne headquarters, including a second-floor apartment, to expand the programs and support available to under-resourced families and young or single parents taking on the challenge of raising the next generation. Our newest program, "Birth of a Family" brings together volunteer family coaches and Lighthouse parents in our Hawthorne Center every Wednesday for a meal, childcare and discussions about healthy relationships, marriage and parenting. We continue to research additional locations where our confidential, compassionate services and support are needed for those facing unexpected pregnancies. We want to do all we can to build healthy families in our community!