Black Hills Pregnancy Center in Rapid City, S.D., is embarking upon a campaign to address space limitations and increase client services.
The center, which has provided free, confidential pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, education and parenting support to women and families across Rapid City and the greater Black Hills region for 40 years, has been serving more 400 women a year out of a 5,000-foot facility and has simply outgrown it.
The ‘Legacy of Life’ campaign aims to provide much-needed increased space to continue providing pregnancy help by building a new center. Insufficient space has meant risking inability to adequately serve clients.
“We are having to turn away clients or ask them to come back at a different time,” said Madison Shipman, director of Media Relations.
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Executive Director Travis Lasseter confirmed the new space will change how the organization can respond to families in crisis.
"Every week, families come to us at the exact moment they need us most," Lasseter said. "Our current space means we sometimes have to ask them to wait or come back. In our work, timing can be everything. This new building means we'll never have to make someone wait again."
The center has its own unique challenges for meeting the needs of clients.
“Rapid City is an unusual area, in the foothills of the Black Hills,” explained Audrey Randolph, Program and Events coordinator. “We’re all kind of crowded into this bowl area and it’s hard to get land. We’re surrounded by two large American Indian reservations and also an Air Force base which bring in a lot of clients. Transportation is an issue. The bus is limited and we have to be on the bus line.”
Like many pregnancy help centers Black Hill Pregnancy Center receives many calls and inquiries involving chemical abortion pills.
“We recently had a woman who came in and had already purchased through the mail abortion pills,” Shipman said. “She was very emotional and she didn't want to abort but her boyfriend didn't want a child, and her parents weren't very supportive.”
The center’s nurses spent extra time with her initially and over time. Staff welcomed the couple back for a follow-up ultrasound, praying before during and after their interactions.
“A few weeks later she reached out and said she had made the decision to keep the baby, and she would do it alone if she needed to, but the boyfriend seemed to be respectful of her decision,” said Shipman. “We were thrilled.”
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The campaign kicked off in late September and includes crowdfunding, signature community events, a “Round-Up” partnership program with local businesses, and gifts from private donors.
Shipman is optimistic about support from local businesses.
“The new building will offer space to serve more women, have more appointment flexibility, and also have storage for baby items and car seats, along with an interior garage that families can pull their vehicles into for car seat installation and safety checks,” Shipman said. “Additionally, this new building will set us up to offer temporary housing to mothers and children in the future.”
From a press release on the campaign:
The new center will increase the number of families the Black Hills Pregnancy Center can serve by 15% and double the center's ultrasound rooms, reducing wait times for one of clients' most critical first appointments. The expanded space will also include additional storage for the diapers, formula, clothing, and other essentials BHPC provides to families at no cost, along with a climate-controlled garage where families can have car seats installed and checked for safety. Looking ahead, the new facility lays the groundwork for BHPC to one day offer temporary housing for mothers, babies, and families in need.
With the need having grown beyond the existing space Black Hills Pregnancy Center looks forward to creating the space for what comes next - client appointments, education, and continued support for families.
