Good Neighbor Podcast: Auburn and Opelika

Ep.#79: Inside Women’s Hope Medical Clinic

• Susannah Hodges at Village Centre Press

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Women's Hope Medical Clinic shows what happens when care meets courage: free medical services, parent education, adoption support, and a plan to open a home for single pregnant moms all under one mission of no judgment and steady love. Daria shares the clinic’s 42-year journey, her personal path, and why the need is higher than ever.

• free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and prenatal care with volunteer OB-GYNs
• STI testing and treatment plus parenting and budgeting classes
• Caring Cash system paired with a community-stocked boutique
• dad program and licensed Hope Adoptions with birth mom choice
• vision for a 2026 home for single pregnant moms
• history from 1980s origins to present growth
• myths debunked on who they serve and why demand is rising
• funding needs with no government support and how donors help
• diversity of clients including international students and families
• how to connect: 334-502-7000, partnersforhope.com, womenshope.org, 820 Stage Road
• events: Hope for the Journey training and the Walk for Life 5K and one-mile walk

To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpauburn.com. That’s gnpauburn.com. Or call 334-429-7404.


SPEAKER_00:

The Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Susan Hodges.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome. And with me today is Daria Monroe with the Women's Hope in Auburn, Alabama. Thank you, Daria, for joining me.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you for having me on. So tell me a little bit about Women's Hope. Women's Hope Medical Clinic is a nonprofit in the community, and all of our services are free. What we do is we've been here, first of all, since 1983. So it's over 42 years of service to the community. We help young couples or women who may be in an unplanned pregnancy and they don't know where to go, what to do. And we give them free medical services such as pregnancy tests, ultrasounds. We even have free prenatal clinic where they can come in and ODGYNs in our community volunteer their services to do examinations for our pregnant moms who may not have insurance or know where to go. And we help prepare them for what they need for the full pregnancy and beyond. And we also have STD testing and treatment. And then we have parenting classes. We have classes that, as they take these classes to learn how to be good parents, they earn what we call caring cash. And they go into our boutique and it's stocked full of mostly brand new items or very lightly used that we receive from the community. And they're able to go in there and with their caring cash, they shop. So it not only fulfills the need for the materials they they have to have, but it teaches them how to budget, how to shop wisely. And we have classes for those as well for budgeting and any kind of just real life issues they may be facing. And more than anything, we give them support and love that they may not have elsewhere. We also have a program for dads, so the fathers can come in and learn how to be a good dad. And from there, we have hope adoptions. So if that young woman wants to make an adoption plan for her baby, we have couples that are waiting for a child so we can match. And the mother, the birth mother is always in the driver's seat. So they get to choose what parent they would like to have raise their child. And we make it as feasible as possible for those adoptive parents so they won't have like great debt to adopt a child. And at this point, we're um also there are other programs we have, but we're also working on a home for single pregnant moms that have nowhere to go, but they need shelter and they they need a safe place that that they can stay during pregnancy and after as they get strong from the the birth of their baby. So we're working on that and hoping that in 2026 we'll be able to have that all together.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that sounds like a um just a huge expansion there of your mission at Women's Hope. Uh tell me a little bit about your journey, maybe some history of Women's Help. You said it's been uh around for 42 years. Did I hear that right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So tell me a little bit about how it got started and how you got into uh the mission, just a little bit about your journey.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, it started, it actually started with a need here in Auburn back in 1982. Young women, specifically at that time, a lot of students at Auburn University may find themselves in a an unplanned pregnancy, and some of the individuals in the community wanted to figure out how we can help them. And they started going to conferences and and learning what can be done. And they started at that time, it was called Save a Life. It became medical in 96 and went to Women's Hope Medical Clinic name. So um it started back then. The the woman who really was the spearhead, the the dreamer, visionary for this is actually a regular weekly volunteer here to this day. So she's been with us all these years, and that's how much she believes in what what happens here at Women's Hope. And as as you can imagine, things just kept adding on. You know, the the adoptions came about in uh 21, and you know, we had like we're licensed in the state of Alabama, and we've had beautiful adoptions throughout, you know, just seeing these babies that are now growing up and getting you know close to school age. And um there's always a need, and it always falls in line with trying to help with a pregnancy, and that is kind of the history of Women's Hope Medical Clinic and Hope Adoptions. For myself, I ended up being a single mom many years ago in my teens, and I was I was married, and the marriage ended, and I had a little one, and I know through experience how difficult it is to be a single mom. Yeah, it's not easy. Yes, so I always had that that burden for single mothers, and um, I think that unless you walk that walk, people don't realize how hard it is. Oftentimes there's judgment without them even maybe knowing the story behind, right? So that was a burden I had for women. The next thing that happened after getting married and having um more children, actually, I had five children, including that little one that I single mommed it with. I heard about a young single mom on the other side of the country. And she had a one-year-old and felt she couldn't have another baby, she couldn't care for another. And I was told about her, reached out, and was able to actually go and see her as she handed me her baby after the baby was born. And watching her tears and the difficulty it was, I was the one that got the gift. Right. She was the one that sacrificed. And since then, I've always said I'll never forget her that day, the her the look on her face until the day that the Lord takes me home, because that's left such an indelible print on my heart and my spirit. So I just have done this for over 30 years. I did it in Orlando, and then they recruited me from Orlando to come here and kind of uh rebuild and build up women's hope. And I think that I'll never not be part of what we're doing because it is so vibrant and so needed and necessary.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, what you do is a definite benefit to our community and for those that need help in a very vulnerable time. But I know that, you know, people looking at the work and uh wondering what you guys do and how you do it, do you come across any myths or misconceptions that people have about you know the mission of women's hope?

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. Uh, there's a lot of it's a very divided um field, you know, as far as people feeling either very much against this or very much for this. Right. And in honesty, one thing I'd like to debunk right now is we do nothing but help these people, help the community. We don't care what their faith is or if there is no faith, we do care. But what I mean is we welcome them regardless of where they stand, regardless of how they came about being pregnant or in our office. We have no judgment, no condemnation, just the love of Jesus Christ. We are Christians, it's the love of Jesus Christ that we show them. We um that's one myth, you know, that there's the myth that that these girls are bad girls. These girls aren't bad girls. No, these girls are not bad girls, and um, the women are not bad women. These are these are people that need help. A lot of them could be married and they have no insurance. So there's a a myriad of cases that we face at women's hope, and all of them just need somebody to to smile, encourage, give them hope, let them know that you're not alone in this. We're here with you the whole way, and so that's a huge myth. The other myth is um that these are teenage girls, you know. That that I kind of answered in the last thing I said, a lot of these are women, adult women that come in. Yes, there are teenage girls, and yes, there are college girls, but it goes the whole spectrum. There's no uh no specific dynamics that that detail a woman who is pregnant and either didn't expect that or do not know how to afford it or have no insurance for it. So that's one myth. The other myth is when um our state is what they consider an abortion ban state, which uh means that uh we don't have an abortion clinic in our state, essentially. Right. And so people, even our longtime donors, are under the false impression that we don't need women's hope any longer. I can tell you for a fact, we are busier than we ever were before Roe v. Wade overturned. Um, we have women coming in with even different situations now than we could have ever dreamed of in the past years. So we're constantly on the go, constantly growing. Um, we're needed. The funding that has slowed down because of that myth that we're not needed.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's not needed, but you definitely are.

SPEAKER_02:

But we need it, and we get no government funding. So our funding is strictly from churches, businesses, individuals, um, clubs, and groups in the area that know we're helping women and men and babies and children. And they give to us, which is all, of course, tax deductible because we are a nonprofit 501c3.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that that is um, I would I would assume that there would be a lot of misconceptions around you know your mission, and especially since the laws have changed and how women are, I would think the need would be even greater since the laws have changed. But let's uh let's turn the conversation to a little different focus. Let's talk about you for a minute, Daria. What do you do when you're not caring for other people?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, this uh may sound like I'm disputing the not caring for because I have some of the most precious grandchildren. Oh and I'm sure that you go through this stage of parenting and then you get to the stage of grandparenting.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And um, I am either traveling to see my grandchildren, or um I love the water. So I love going to the ocean, walking on the beach, um, going up to Lake Martin, one of my favorite places that's almost like a small ocean in itself, as large as that that lake is. So I love doing things like that. I love getting out in the community and getting to see people. I love people. So the more people I can be around, the more fun it is for me.

SPEAKER_01:

That sounds awesome. Um, we do have a wonderful uh nature around us here in Auburn and Opalika with all the parks and the lake uh Lake Martin. It is a beautiful area. Well, can you uh, you know, one of the reasons that I do this podcast is because um I want to encourage other people to follow their heart. And whether that's going into entrepreneurship or or or anything, anything, I like to encourage people to follow what their dreams are. And so when you do that though, there um always going to be some roadblocks, some obstacles, some hardships that kind of sneak in there. And I like to get people's um, you know, story about how they followed their dreams and uh how they handled those hardships or challenges, whether it's personal or in business or in your case, in your mission, what are some of those things that you overcome that made you better?

SPEAKER_02:

I think part of it is um just having diligence. I I would find myself being impatient. And when you're in something that's good, it doesn't just always appear in instantly. That's you have to you have to really fight for it in a professional loving way, but it's those things, and I can say bringing it here to our community, getting licensed in adoption. I started working on that in 2018.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

And I had done international and domestic adoptions in Florida, plus, I'm an adoptive mom. I thought that's gonna be a piece of cake, I'm gonna get that just so easy. Well, it wasn't, and I went through, I just kept I get frustrated with the paperwork and getting things thrown back to me to redo, and finally I thought, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get this, get this through. And in honesty, there was a woman at DHR in Montgomery that is now retired. She was such an encourager that um at the end, a funny, sweet part of this story is at the very end, I had tried for several years to get licensed, and we knew we had the need. And um, I talked with her and I said, you know, Thanksgiving is coming up. This was November 2021. Okay, we could give such thanks. Yeah, we could just get that signature and be licensed. And the night before Thanksgiving, I got a text saying, check your email. Oh, and she had signed our license and scanned it, had a copy of it on my email, and it was just a fun thing. Just to me, it's confirmation. The community knows what we need. We just need to get all of our ducks in a row. Yeah, we need to be patient and diligent with yes, patient is patient, and someone facing it with a home for single moms, right?

SPEAKER_01:

You're you're building something new and it's gonna take time. Yep.

SPEAKER_02:

And that experience has I'm better for it because now I know this isn't an overnight success. This takes for you know, they always say it takes a village, it takes our our whole community coming together. Because um, Suzanne, I'll tell you the truth. When this is up and running, very needed um program, we're so short-staffed. We need the community to step forward, those who may have that dream or that vision, or may, like myself, have walked through some hard times in their younger years to say that's exactly the passion I have. Yeah, I would love to be part of that home for moms. Or just part of women's hope or hope adoptions.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Absolutely. Well, let's see here. What is one thing you wish people knew about Women's Hope Medical Clinic that they may not realize?

SPEAKER_02:

I think I wish that they knew number one, the diversity. Our doors are they're open to so many that most people could not have reached. And thankful to Auburn University primarily, we have the world coming right here to Auburn. So we have people from different nations. I we talk about missionary work a lot. We are a homeland mission base right here because people come from, yes, our community, definitely, but we have full house with people from other nations that may not know our customs, right? And it's just the the sweetest opportunity to share, and they're hungry to know what America's about. So that's one thing. The diversity of women's hope is so broad. And if I could say anything, and I feel like this is my mantra almost, the love that everyone here pours out on our patients and our clients. We have people coming years after the fact saying, I was so cared for, I was so loved at Women's Hope. So it's it's no judgment, it's just love that they receive. Love and support.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, how can people find out more about uh your clinic? Get in touch with you, maybe they need your services or maybe they want to volunteer.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, well, we would love for people to reach out and to come in. Our phone number is 334-502-7000. And if they call, they'll have a somebody very kind and sweet answering and connecting them to whoever they want. If they want to speak to me, they can be connected to me. If they want information on volunteerism, that as well. And um whatever they would like, if they need our help, definitely we are here for them. And what is your website address? The for for donors, I want to give two website addresses. For donors, if if they want to know more about getting into involved, go to all one word or all continued, no space, partnersforhope.com. So that's for those interested in how can I volunteer, how can I maybe contribute to this. Okay. Patience come in through women's hope.org. So both websites are easy to remember. Yes. Partners4hope.com or women's hope.org. So um either way, and again, the phone number 334-502-7000. And even when we are not here, for those women who may be just finding out they're pregnant, or the boyfriend or husband, we have around the clock, we have someone answering that's trained. Um, so we have a call system, call service that they're trained counselors that can answer that phone at night or holidays. So um, you know, we're we would love, we invite the community. This is a community ministry, and we invite the community, stop by. We're at 820 Stage Road in Auburn. And you can stop by and ask for Daria or uh my assistant is Allie. Um, Suzanne, if I could mention a good way to find out about Women's Hope is attending some of the events we have. That's right. We got trouble coming up. We do. Um, October 20th and 21st in the evenings, we have something that's called Hope for the Journey. And it's like a simulcast of different child psychologists, trainers that help parents, adoptive parents, prospective adoptive parents, or foster care parents come in and get training on how to be how to do that the best way they can. So we have that available. We're also providing dinner for the the parents that need to come for that. But it's um Monday and Tuesday, the 20th and 21st of this month. Then we have something that I think is really our most fun event of the year, and that's our Walk for Life 5K. It's at Opalica Sportsplex. You do need to register just so that we can plan everything. But there's goodies, there's um a uh like a food truck, gourmet coffee type thing. There's yeah, um, we always have fun things. We have a bounce house for children, we have an obstacle course, so it's like a a nice fall morning for the family to come out to Opalika Sportsplex. And what day is that on? It is on November 8th, Saturday, November 8th. Please pray for good weather. Yes. And uh it starts at, I think everybody starts lining up about 7:15, 7:30. And then it just that's for the people that are doing the walk. It's a one-mile walk, and then we have the 5K. And a lot of people in the community are for are familiar with Aorta. It's a a 5K or marathon running club. They're the ones that do our 5K for us, and it's done in excellence. And then the walk is just all of us joining together, those that may feel like we can't do the 5K, but boy, we want to have some fun. So we're gonna make a walk a mile. Yeah, and it's a peer fundraiser, so it's kind of like I many people are familiar with um United Way and breast cancer. They've had different walks where you know, sponsor me for a mile kind of thing. So we have people just, if they're comfortable, reach out to family and friends, and that way you're helping to take care of the families in need here in our community.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Well, thank you, Daria, for joining me today. I've really enjoyed uh talking with you and learning more about Women's Hope Medical Clinic. Really have uh enjoyed our conversation. Thank you, Suzanne.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Auburn. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpauburn.com. That's gnpauburn.com. Or call three three four four two nine seven four zero.