THE CARIS APPROACH®
Caris is a faith-based, nonprofit pregnancy counseling agency.
The Caris Approach® of Commitment, Counseling and Connection focuses on supporting all women in Cook County facing unplanned pregnancies. This approach meets the needs of women and children, builds common ground around a divisive issue and reduces the number of abortions.
Our Commitment is to work for the dignity and welfare of both the woman and the child in an unplanned pregnancy.
- We believe God is equally committed to both the woman and the child, so we commit to do the same.
- We commit to providing a safe and welcoming place for each woman to receive free professional services for her individualized needs. We commit to providing real help and support to any woman facing an unplanned pregnancy and will be there as she works through her decision and beyond, no matter what her circumstances or her choice.
- We commit to building strong relationships with the community and with churches so that we can connect women with a wide variety of resources that can provide ongoing support.
- We commit to engaging in a new conversation, one that respects all women and children and welcomes them into an environment free from judgment and full of care.
- We commit to helping each woman have hope for her future and the future of her children.
From our Clients
“I thought Caris would be more of a clinic access, a very public-like place. But when I walked in I felt comfortable. From the receptionist to the counselors, everybody seemed caring. They were just very concerned, very helpful—I could even say loving.”
“It wasn’t pro-life versus pro-choice. She said, ‘It’s about you personally.’ I felt like they cared about me as a person and not just the unborn baby.”
Our Counseling helps women navigate the complex emotions and circumstances surrounding unplanned pregnancy.
We know that women facing unexpected pregnancies can experience great emotional distress, which often collides with other complex issues and circumstances in their lives. It is this emotional crisis that often influences decisions about the future. Although there are community services that provide pregnant women with medical care and information, there are very few resources to help address their emotional needs by providing free professional counseling.
Through professional counseling at Caris, we provide each woman with a chance to feel and be heard. Once she has a safe, non-judgmental place to fully explore what she is feeling, she often starts to realize that there is help available for her, and she can begin to have hope for her future and the future of her child.
Our staff, made up of licensed professional counselors and social workers, provides short-term counseling and case management for each woman’s unique concerns. All our services, including counseling, pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, are free and completely confidential. Our counselors will work with a woman as she sorts through her thoughts and emotions and processes her decision.
From our Clients
“She wasn’t just telling me what to do or talking condescendingly to me because I was an irresponsible person. She just really cared about what I said and cared about how I felt; she treated me like those things mattered.”
“I felt comfortable with her. It was her way of talking to me, and her expression that she was going to help me. There was a connection there. She made me feel safe and comfortable so I could open up to her and tell her what was going on.”
“My counselor asked me a question nobody had asked; What did I want to do, with no one influencing me? What was in my heart? It was the first time I felt like I really had a choice.”
Our Connection helps women build long-term emotional and practical support systems.
We commit to providing women with a wide variety of community and church resources to build the long-term emotional and practical support systems they need during and after pregnancy. We know that if women don’t receive the support they need, it often leads to either an abortion or a lifetime of struggle and difficult parenting. Connection is how we continue to change the conversation through hands-on involvement that helps support a woman through her pregnancy and well beyond. We offer:
- Peer support – In safe, confidential groups at each of our sites women can engage with other women also experiencing unplanned pregnancy. Each group is guided by a professional counselor and meets once a week. As women are brought together, they support and encourage one another as they set goals and plan for the future.
- Community resources – We offer each woman connection to community resources. A Caris counselor advocates for her and provides referrals, such as medical care, housing, educational programs, employment services and financial assistance. In addition, Caris provides limited early childcare items, including diapers, formula and clothing.
- Local churches – Our Adopt-A-Group program connects women from local churches to women in our support groups, as they provide snacks, childcare and baby showers. Our ConnectioNext™ program provides a way for our support groups to continue at local churches near our sites, so that women can have ongoing emotional, spiritual and practical support.
From our Clients
“I felt like people in the support group were here to listen to me, not to judge me. It felt great, like a deep breath. It was like breathing after being held under water for so long.”
“After my son was born it pushed and motivated me to start back to school and get through my classes. I wanted my son to be able to say ‘Yeah, my mom got pregnant young, but she still finished school.”
“I was in my counselor’s office and I was going to quit. And she said, ‘Why would you quit when you only have one quarter left to get your associates, and the baby won’t be here yet?’ I knew if I could finish my associates degree then at least I could find a job. I could provide for my child and not have to depend on lots of other people.”