Our Social Justice Partners

Rooted in the 7 Tenents of Catholic Social Teaching, the Our Lady of Lourdes Justice and Charity Committee seeks to engage with and promote the work of our local partners in social justice work. In this section, parishoners and community members will find resources and narratives to increase their understanding of social justice and advocacy, as well as information about partners who are doing this work on a local, national, and international level. The Time, Talent, and Treasure section at the end of each posting offers different levels of meaningful opportunities for Lourdes parishioners and community members to engage with our social justice partners.

Strong. Beautiful. Inside and Out. 

“Before I came to Abria, I was very adamant on trying to get rid of my baby. Now with the support of Abria, I chose life and my son is my joy and inspiration.” -Shadaria

Familiar to many in the Lourdes community, Abria is a local pregnancy resource organization that offers a “safe, non-judgmental and supportive environment for Twin Cities women, teens and couples experiencing an unexpected pregnancy. [Their] clients experience friendship, hope and encouragement through positive and life-affirming medical and personal support services, education and resources.” Initially formed in 2012 with the merger of University LifeCare Center and the Highland LifeCare Center, Abria opened their location on University Ave in 2015, and their North Side Pregnancy Options location in Minneapolis in 2017. 

Abria’s work is grounded in the following beliefs:

• the inherent dignity of each person, from conception to natural death

• the right of our clients to receive comprehensive, truthful information in a respectful and compassionate way

• the importance of addressing the needs of the whole person when providing services

In 2019, Abria served 2,250 lives supporting women, their partners, and babies; through their mission to ensure that each woman feels empowered, equipped, and embraced, Abria is able to help women and families facing unplanned pregnancies form a plan to support life that fits with their current needs and life situation. Abria uses a Client Advocate Life Coach model to address not only a woman’s material needs during and after pregnancy, but also help her to reflect on and begin to live her values. Some of the supports provided by Abria include connecting mothers with local prenatal programs, material goods for baby, goal setting, group classes through Abria Equips, a baby shower in a basket for new moms, and visits to mothers in the hospital to provide Mommy Swag Bags with newborn diapers, books, and other necessary materials for newborns. Abria’s work with women both during pregnancy and after birth empowers each mother to make a choice for life, both for her baby and herself. 

“When I got to Abria and told them my story, they didn’t even look at me funny or blink an eye. They were very open-armed and welcoming. They made me feel like, it’s going to be okay whatever you’re going through it happens. You’re going to get through this.” -Catherine

To read more about Abria, visit their client website at https://www.abria.org and their supporters website at https://supporters.abria.org/. 

Time, Talent, and Treasure: How Lourdes Parishioners Can Support Our Local Partners

Our Lady of Lourdes’ Justice and Charity Committee will be supporting the work of Abria during January 2020 with a baby shower drive. Parishioners can donate items directly at church or through the Amazon wish-list; look for more information in January’s parish communications. In addition, Justice and Charity Committee members will field a team at Abria’s Life is Wonderful Run/Walk event in May 2020; last year’s event involved more than 1,000 runners and walkers and opened doors to conversation with new supports. 

Financially, Abria has an annual operating budget of $1.7 million; as of early December, they were still in need of $400,000 to meet this for 2020. To donate, visit https://supporters.abria.org/

For parishioners interested in direct time committments, Abria needs front desk receptionists, an IT volunteer, resource navigators, boutique volunteers, RN’s, Parent Education Facilitators, Workshop Facilitators, Child Play Area volunteers, and volunteers for their handy crews, cleaning crews, and event crews. For more information on needed volunteer roles, visit https://supporters.abria.org/volunteer/

 
Justice and Charity members visit North Side Pregnancy Center in 2019.