Community Maternity Serves the Neighborhood

By SYDNEY PALUCH
Contributing Writer

Community Maternity Services exists for young mothers faced with the challenges of caring for a child. Founded in 1971, CMS was originally a residency program for pregnant adolescents. Over time, the organization has expanded to serve the other needs of the community. On February 15, 2013 their newest incarnation opened, the Joyce Center Transitional Living Maternity Program for Runaway and Homeless Youth, and a community café is beginning operation.

An average of 2,000 clients passes through Community Maternity’s programs each year. Teenage mothers and their children are the majority of those 2,000. Community Maternity Service’s primary purpose is to assist and care for young mothers in crisis. Most clients are poor, do not have education or employment, or come from unsafe homes.

“Many of them have been physically or sexually abused,” said Ann Marie Couser, director of communications and public relations for Community Maternity Services. Such destitute situations often affect unborn children as well. “They are at risk of having premature, low birth weight babies with other health problems,” said Couser.

With 125 full time employees Community Maternity Services is an agent of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany. “We are the only agency that provides services to pregnant teens and adoption services,” said Couser. “We answer to the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities.”

Yet a client’s religious views will not affect the services he or she receives. Two courses of action are offered for pregnant women in crisis: parenting or adoption. “Every mother wants to provide a safe, loving and stable environment for her children”, Couser said. “CMS is there to provide the support necessary to enable each mother to make this life changing decision.”

After 40 years, Community Maternity Services has grown to operate two residential programs specifically for young mothers and their children; the Joyce and Heery Centers. Both are located next door to CMS’s main administrative building at 27 North Main Ave. After clients finish at the Joyce and Heery centers the Supervised Independent Living Program transitions them to autonomous living. Through these programs clients are offered therapy, education, life skill training and medical care. “We succeed where other programs have failed”, is CMS’s motto.

Clients are referred to CMS primarily through the Social Services Dept. since many are in the custody of the county. “They aren’t just dealing with being pregnant teenagers, they are dealing with other debilitating problems,” Couser said. “They are so young, with so many obstacles and mountains to climb with little to no support except for agencies like us”.

“We constantly revisit all of our funding options”, said Couser. Government funds make up 90% of Community Maternity’s budget, with the rest consisting of grants from private foundations. With the economic recession, funding has dramatically decreased during the last few years, although there has been an increase in demands for CMS’s services according to Couser. “In spite of this, we make every effort to meet the needs of this very vulnerable population.”

“Most people think of the Farano center for volunteering but there are other opportunities,” says Theresa Raso, program manager of Little Flower Intergenerational Child Care Center, one of CMS’s community programs. In the new Joyce Center Transitional Living Maternity Program for Runaway and Homeless Youth, mentoring is one of those opportunities.

“Developing in the residential program is a mentoring program. We are looking for young women, especially, but also young men”, said Sherri Schuly, Associate Executive Director of CMS Residential Services. Mentors spend time with a client, taking them on trips and developing a positive relationship. Many stay connected even after completing the program.

“One of our goals is that every client get and education and some life skills,” said Couser. Education is addressed through the mentoring program and a job training program is developing in CMS’s community café.

“This is in the beginning stages but we have a café at the pastoral center, next to our main building. It caters to the employees and community so anybody can come,” said Couser. “The girls are leaning things like how to serve lunch, work a cash register, food preparation and we are hoping as time goes on to expand that ministry with our connections to the Schenectady Culinary Institute.”

“We have been blessed with meeting some of the right people,” Couser said. “The future looks really bright.”