It’s almost 7 a.m. in Dallas, Texas. As a client advocate, Sarah drives to meet Mobile Medical Clinic driver Thad at a parking lot just ten minutes from her house. From there, they both make the drive across Dallas to Oak Cliff, meeting a need in one of the city’s poorest areas, a food desert and one of many neighborhoods without a brick-and-mortar pregnancy health clinic.
Sarah kept this routine every Wednesday morning for about a year, faithfully serving on the Mobile Medical Clinic, seeing women’s lives changed and babies saved, then packing up the Mobile Medical Clinic to make the drive home, all in a day’s work, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sarah, The Advocate
September marked Sarah’s third anniversary working for Real Options, a Save the Storks partner in Dallas, and she is never looking back.
“This is my first job out of school, which is so exciting and so fun. I have never seen myself going anywhere else ever,” Sarah says.
Sarah graduated a year early from college before heading to Missouri, where she became equipped in biblical studies, ministry, and leadership.
“It really equipped me for where I am here now,” says Sarah. “My job is all things clients — whether it’s texting them, calling them, seeing them, making them feel welcomed.”
Now, Sarah works mainly in-office, but for a year she had the privilege of serving on the Mobile Medical Clinic with Thad.
Read about the Mobile Medical Clinic driver, Thad.
On Board the Stork Bus
On paper, what Sarah and other client advocates do seems simple.
“I would just talk to them, get to know them, get to know their story,” says Sarah.
But often, these conversations are the first time a woman is truly heard. Here, she is seen and given the chance to talk openly about her circumstances and the decision she’s facing without pressure or judgment.
Sarah has seen firsthand how circumstances can make women feel like abortion is their only choice.
“I don’t know anybody who’s ever just said, ‘Yeah, I want to have an abortion.’ I don’t think I’ve met one single person,” says Sarah.
Instead, she says, there is usually a reason behind the decision.
“It’s, ‘I need an abortion because XYZ.’ And so, if it’s finances, if it’s material items, if it’s support, is there anything that we can do to help?” Sarah adds.
The goal isn’t to pressure a woman into a particular decision. It is to help her see that she has options.
“We don’t want you to feel like that [abortion] is your only option. We want you to truly see all the options,” says Sarah.
Caroline’s Story
One story from Sarah’s time on the Mobile Medical Clinic has stayed with her to this day.
Caroline* came onto the Mobile Medical Clinic feeling like having another baby was impossible. She already had a three-year-old daughter, had little money, had not finished high school, was working, and still needed to earn her GED.
After Sarah heard her story, they went back to the ultrasound room.
“She saw that 14-week baby and was like, ‘I can’t do this,’” Sarah remembers.
Sarah gave her the resources and support she needed to see a way forward.
“She had her sweet little baby. We got to give her a baby shower, and she brought her sister and cousin and brother. It was just the sweetest thing,” says Sarah.
The story has stayed with Sarah long after that day. She still keeps a piece of Caroline’s story in her desk, a reminder of the impact one conversation, one moment, and one ultrasound can make, and of Caroline’s bravery in choosing life.
“We recorded the heartbeat of her baby in the sonogram. I still have it in my desk. And I still have a note from her,” says Sarah.
*Name has been changed to protect the client’s privacy.
More than a job…
For Sarah, being a client advocate is more than a job. It’s an opportunity to show up for women when they feel alone.
“I get emotional talking about my work because I’m just like, wow, we really get to save lives. We get to step in the gap with them and say, ‘Hey, you can do this. You are capable. We’re here for you,’” says Sarah.
Stories like Caroline’s are made possible by generous donors who help keep Mobile Medical Clinics on the road and advocates like Sarah by their side.
You can help make sure women facing an unexpected pregnancy have someone there to listen, offer support, and remind them that they can choose a different path.
Your gift can help put Mobile Medical Clinics on the road and staff them with compassionate client advocates like Sarah, ready to meet women in some of their most difficult moments.
