Jenny Odom said she loves all the ways she gets to invest in people at Pregnancy Test & Resource Center in Jasper. But one of her favorites is something that takes her staff out of the center every Tuesday and puts them behind bars.
“We call it our Second Chance program,” said Odom, PTRC’s executive director. “We have some of the best conversations … at that program. The women are very honest; they have nothing to lose.”
In the Second Chance program, the incarcerated women who participate eat dinner together then take a class on a parenting or life skills topic.
Classes range from car seat safety and SIDS to addiction and resumé building.
“It helps us to give them a foundation of this is what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like, this is what a healthy lifestyle is supposed to look like,” Odom said.
The program got started about a year and a half ago when she and a friend at Walker County Jail served on a community action team together and got to talking about ways their work might overlap.
“He had just mentioned that it’d be great to have somebody come in and talk to these moms who have experienced this or that, or who have a lot of risk factors present,” Odom said. “Many had lost custody of their children and were working to get into rehab.”
‘We can vouch for them’
She said when they first started the program, they found one woman in the classes that they knew because she had visited PTRC before.
“Since we had seen her, she had gotten on drugs and gotten arrested a couple of times,” Odom said.
The woman was able to get into rehab not too long after that.
“It helps when they want to go to rehab to say, ‘Hey, I’ve been doing these classes,’ and we can vouch for them,” Odom said.
PTRC staff also hopes to give them the skills to keep going when they get out in society, but sometimes it’s a winding road.
The woman they knew who went to rehab got pregnant afterward and found herself back at PTRC. The staff was able to help her navigate all the changes happening in her life and stay on track.
“She had her baby and is doing wonderfully,” Odom said. “We’re trying to help her keep on the road she’s on, but she’s doing great — it’s like daylight and dark from the way she was before.”
For many women both inside the jail and out, PTRC is a support system to help them with resources and let them know they’re not forgotten as they walk through difficult seasons of life.
Resources available
“We do pregnancy testing and ultrasound, and we have prenatal and parenting education programs for expecting moms and dads,” Odom said. “We also have a variety of resources like a clothes closet and the opportunity for parents to get baby items and diapers.”
She said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers of people they served increased dramatically; in 2022, they nearly doubled from the previous year. So they began looking to move, and in September they were able to relocate to a space double the size of their previous building.
“We’ve got more room to grow and function,” Odom said.
Outside their walls, they’re growing too. In addition to their work in the jail, their mobile unit allows them to provide services to people in Walker, Winston and Marion counties. That includes offering a one-day Baby Boot Camp at churches in different locations for expecting moms and dads who aren’t close enough to the center to make it to the regular parenting classes.
“We’re always trying to think of new ideas, new ways we can help our community,” Odom said. “Our ultimate goal is to share and guide them into having a relationship with Jesus if they don’t have that.”
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