Merci’s Refuge, a Christian, anti-abortion residential center for women in need, will soon neighbor its affiliate, the Living Alternatives pregnancy resource center in Champaign. 

The Living Alternatives staff hopes to raise the necessary $600,000 in donations to break ground and begin building Merci’s Refuge by late spring, said Greta Henry, executive director of Merci’s Refuge. So far, approximately $166,000 has been collected, including one anonymous $100,000 donation.

The residential center, which will house up to eight women ages 18-28 at no cost, will be built next door to Living Alternatives, 205 E. Wilber Ave., Champaign, and is planned to open in the fall of 2013. 

“When girls come in they will be possibly saying, ‘I want to have the baby, but I don’t have a place to live,’” Henry said. “It’s not just a place for them to come and live to get off the streets … it’s a place where they desire to remove themselves from their crisis situation … and focus on making lasting changes.”

While Living Alternatives serves women by providing pregnancy testing, free limited ultrasounds and other forms of pregnancy assistance, it does not offer a residence program like Merci’s Refuge.

Each woman will need to apply to be accepted into the residential program, which can last anywhere from six months to a year, Henry said. The center does not restrict its services to pregnant women, but may also accept other women who are in dangerous situations, such as an abusive relationship. 

The program will include a daily routine with workshops and counseling services that provide a woman with the skills and support necessary to “be all that God has created her to be.” Henry said residents will learn cooking and maintenance skills by helping care for the facility alongside staff. 

Henry said that crisis pregnancies that are connected to homelessness are a community issue, and Merci’s Refuge aims to address the problem and help get the girls back on their feet.

In 2005, 68 percent of homeless women aged 12-21 in Illinois said they have been pregnant, a 35 percent increase from 1985, according to research from the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation that was published in a National Network for Youth report.

The city of Champaign has not funded Merci’s Refuge in any way, but Champaign Mayor Don Gerard said he thinks the organization will be a great addition to the community, regardless of any religious or political stances it takes.

“Whether individuals are pro-choice or pro-life, I have no problem with that,” Gerard said. “Any group that’s pro-anything, whatever it is, I am much more pleased to see them actively taking a role, rather than dictating how others behave. Being involved to assist others to get the help that they need, it’s crucial.”

Annually in Illinois, approximately 4,100 pregnant women under the age of 19 utilize public assistance for their pregnancies, according to data provided by the Illinois Department of Public Aid Teen Parent Services.

Merci’s Refuge is just one of many pregnancy resource centers in the area. Others in Champaign include Frances Nelson Health Center, 819 Bloomington Road, Planned Parenthood of East Central Illinois, 302 E. Stoughton St. and Women’s Health Practice, 2125 S. Neil St.

Robert Palinkas, director of McKinley Health Center, wrote in an email that the University’s health center does not tabulate the number of pregnancies that occur at the University. However, if a student did come to McKinley asking for pregnancy resources, it is possible the health center would recommend visiting Merci’s Refuge.

“(We are) always interested in identifying available resources for our patients,” Palinkas said.

Emma can be reached at [email protected].