From the Desk of Kelly Rourke-Scarry, President and CEO

I love celebrating Mother’s Day with my family.  I am so grateful for each of my wonderful children, for my incredible adoptive mother, and courageous biological mother who chose to give me life and a future. Mother’s Day can be such a time of celebration and joy, and if you are a mom, I hope your day was bursting with love and laughter!

As I think about Mother’s Day, as grateful as I am, I can’t help but think about the hidden crises thousands of mothers are facing on the streets of our cities around the nation.   For example, Building Arizona Families is located in Phoenix, Arizona.  Many people don’t realize that Arizona has one of the worst homelessness crises in the nation. But there is more to the story.  While homelessness statistics are tracked, the number of homeless pregnant women is not documented.  Why is this so concerning?  Homelessness itself is a crisis, but it creates a cascading effect of other very negative outcomes, including addiction, mental health, and physical health problems. Additionally, women living on the streets are at much greater risk for domestic violence, sexual trafficking, and rape.

To compound this dire situation, many of the women who are pregnant and are on the streets are afraid to ask for the help that they need for fear their unborn baby will be taken away.  And, state government agencies track births but don’t identify babies born into homelessness, which means there are no programs specifically designed to help homeless pregnant women and their unborn babies.

This is precisely where Building Arizona Families comes in.  While it can be very challenging, we work hard to reach homeless pregnant women and let them know we can help.  We let them know that adoption is a very courageous, positive choice, that we can help get them off the streets immediately, and provide the services they need to be safe and healthy. Most of them are so incredibly relieved because the stress on the streets is almost unbearable.  I always love telling them that after they place their baby for adoption, we help them find jobs or go back to school, and even provide access to our food pantry and clothing closet.  For many of these women who have experienced significant trauma, they are overwhelmed that people would care enough to walk with them through pregnancy and stay beside them afterward.  It’s incredible watching them begin to believe that their lives can be different.  This is what creating hope looks like!

So… let’s remember the courageous birth mothers who are giving their children the gift of life and a hope filled future, and the loving adoptive mothers who embrace these precious infants and raise them with tenderly, motherly love.  Thank you, as always, for caring.

All the best,

Kelly Rourke-Scarry
President
Building Arizona Families

A Difficult First Step

Birth Mother Matters in Adoption Season 3, Episode 218: A Difficult First Step

When pregnant women contact us to discuss placing their unborn baby for adoption, we know that the first meeting can be a very emotional one.  We work hard to ensure that the birth mother feels understood, that we know how hard the first step of the adoption journey can be.  Tune in to find out more about the difficult first step of courageous birth mothers.

Adoption Matters. Live.  Learn.  Love. Listen.

Stay Connected with Building Arizona Families!

Phone: 623-936-4729, 1-800-340-9664
E-mail:  info@buildingarizonafamilies.com
8433 N. Black Canyon Highway
Suite 152
Phoenix, AZ 85021

Buildingarizonafamilies.com

Stay Connected with Arizona Pregnancy Help! 
Phone: 623-695-4112
E-mail: info@buildingarizonafamilies.com
Address: same as Building Arizona Families

Azpregnancyhelp.com

Stay Connected with the Donna K. Evans Foundation!
Phone: 602-595-8592
E-mail: info@buildingarizonafamilies.com
Address: same as Building Arizona Families

dkefoundation.com

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