Love in Action: Elyce’s Story

This month’s Lifestories is going to take you back two years to when we met a woman named Elyce. Elyce was one of the very first clients that Teri, Claire and Mary Anne teamed up to help. We met her through a wonderful man named Joe, a longtime faithful prayer warrior at the Cherry Hill Women’s Center. Joe began praying 25 years ago when Teri first brought the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants philosophy back from Brooklyn, NY where it began with Monsignor Philip Reilly.  Joe is one of the original Helpers!  He introduced Teri to Elyce.

Elyce was the first woman we put up in a motel, something that we have to do often. Through God’s providence the low income housing she had applied for two years before we met, came through after only a month of us paying rent. …But more important than the length of time we housed her, was the urgency of it. If she had not had a roof over her head at that crucial time, she would have lost her daughter to the state.

Over the last two years we have stayed closely involved with Elyce. She is part of the Helpers family. Several times we have helped her with medical expenses and once we paid to replace a window in her apartment after it was broken in mid-winter. She did not have $200 for the repair.

(We had it because of your donations.)

At Christmas time  Elyce let us know she was expecting again. The fact that she let us know right away resonated with us. We believe this is evidence that we are truly preventing abortions. She admitted that she had gone to the CHWC for proof of pregnancy but she had no intention of aborting this baby. She called us.

We took her to Options for Women for an ultrasound and maternity clothes. Options for Women is a pregnancy care center in Cherry Hill that we utilize whenever possible. They have a nurse on staff and each mom is assigned a counselor. For Elyce we ran into the problem of transportation since she lives in Glassboro and has no car. So we drove her back and forth to Cherry Hill a few times during her pregnancy. After her beautiful daughter, Selena Grace, was born on July 14th weighing 6 lbs. 2 oz., we drove her back again to pick up a layette basket Options had put together for her. We love partnering with organizations like Options!

Elyce and her daughters are doing well and we will continue to support them whenever and however they need. We are so appreciative for your donations which allow us to step in and help moms with whatever they need to continue a pregnancy and care for their children. Elyce’s broken window is a very good example of what may occur that no other organization would take care of, especially with the immediacy needed. Thank you!

“As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in his thoughts. You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.” Psalm 40:17