Some women can’t easily visit one of the Catholic women’s centers or crisis pregnancy centers in the Twin Cities, or can’t muster the courage to walk in the door, said Anne Fredrickson, executive director of Alpha Women’s Center. So, her organization offers services via a 31-foot recreational vehicle housed with a full ultrasound unit and clinic on board.
Fredrickson recently visited with Patrick Conley, host of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, to discuss the mobile services. She said Alpha Women’s Center, located in Prior Lake since 1982, has offered services much like other traditional pregnancy centers — and at one time, even offered a maternity home.
“In 2011, the director at that time felt like they had strayed from their mission of really reaching out to the abortion-vulnerable,” Fredrickson said. So, the director decided to sell the maternity home and invested in the RV.
The RV is parked in lots around the Twin Cities, with permission, Fredrickson said. “We have a very busy location at the Shakopee Target,” she said. “We hear women all the time who come in and say, ‘I saw you here every Wednesday for the last two years when I went to get my coffee’ or ‘when I went to do my shopping,’” she said. “‘And I didn’t need you then, but today I need you. And I knew you would be here.’ It’s taking that outreach to where people are and just being visible and present to them.”
Services are offered at no charge, including pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, online parenting classes, prenatal vitamins and baby necessities. All medical services are offered by licensed medical staff.
Fredrickson said the ultrasounds are key to Alpha’s mission. They allow staff to show women the truth of the life of the baby.
“It’s so often such a critical factor in them choosing life,” she said. “We know that statistically, four out of five women will choose life, and we see that played out probably even a little higher than those numbers. It’s just such a powerful thing for a woman to see her baby on ultrasound, even as early as seven, eight weeks.
“When they see that heartbeat, it changes things.”
Fredrickson described several women whose lives were changed by visiting the mobile unit. She mentioned the day staff drove the RV to Brooklyn Center to follow up with a client who had walked out of an abortion clinic, came to the mobile unit and chose to continue the pregnancy.
“So, we drove up there so she could show that ultrasound to the baby’s father and they ended up following through on choosing life,” she said. “And she has a beautiful little boy. So, it’s definitely such a beautiful and effective ministry to be able to go where people need us.”
To hear other women’s stories and where the RV regularly travels, tune in to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. May 7, 1 p.m. May 8 and 2 p.m. May 9 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. To learn more about the Alpha Women’s Center and its RV, visit miraclemachinemn.com.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Mickey Nickelson, who discusses her role as the new president of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, and Brian Ragatz, who describes the valuable contributions of school workers and how they will be recognized at a virtual gala May 8.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired:
