RETA program brings pregnancy and postpartum care directly to community at no cost
ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -- Helping parents find their footing right where they are, without the burden of payment. That’s the goal behind RETA’s (Reason Enough To Act) new program, GLOW (Growing Love Opportunity & Wellness).
RETA is a nonprofit pregnancy clinic and family resource center in Elkhart County that offers mentorship, help with mental health, and medical support throughout the pregnancy journey and after at no cost whatsoever, and now they’re expanding their reach with GLOW.
GLOW is a new community health nurse program offering prenatal and postpartum support right where people are, whether that’s at their home or somewhere in the community. There’s no payment involved and the only requirement for getting their help is needing it.
“We know that it can be a lot to bundle up that kid and get out of the home and do all of those things and so we want to go to them, make sure they’re doing well after the delivery. That’s where we assess for postpartum depression, we do developmental screenings for the kiddos to make sure they’re developing as they should, and then we connect them to resources as needed,” said RETA CEO, Brandie Yoder.
On top of providing prenatal education and support alongside other expectant mothers, postpartum check-ins and education at home visits, and mental and guidance from trained community health nurses, GLOW is aiming to break the barriers in getting maternal healthcare such as securing transportation, getting childcare, or finding the money.
“Being pregnant can be scary, there’s a lot of unknowns that happen and we want to create community for the women who just want to come together and learn… because we are privately funded through donors, who are amazing, we don’t have an income requirement, we don’t have any requirement that you have to be a first time mom or you have to enroll within a certain timeframe or that you have to have received you know any other types of services here at RETA,” explained Yoder.
The biggest focus of the program is the relationships that will be created, explained Yoder. She said after 41 years of helping families through parenthood in Elkhart County, GLOW will be one more way to craft a community of support.
“A lot of the people we serve, we talk about social currency, which means you or I can pick up our phone and we could call probably 50 different people if we have a flat tire, a lot of our moms have no one, and so through our mentorship program, through staff, we are their someone,” shared Yoder.
To learn more about RETA or get involved with GLOW, click here.