Melbourne-based pregnancy support service, The Babes Project, is opening its second hub as well as a new residential program.

The Babes Project began two years ago as the brainchild of Christian woman Helen Parker, whose own experience of falling pregnant at a young age inspired her to reach out to women in crisis.

Babes Project volunteers and nappy bags for clients.

Since opening its doors in Melbourne’s outer east two years ago, Helen estimates they’ve helped more than 100 women who’ve found themselves pregnant and needing help.

Helen says when they launched The Babes Project, they never could’ve imagined the need for such a service in the community. “I think we had no idea how good our service could become and how needed it really was. We’ve been inundated. We had a hunch, but that need is very real.”

Growing demand means The Babes Project last week opened its doors in a location known for some of the highest teenage and crisis pregnancy rates in Victoria—the Mornington Peninsula. The new hub, currently based in Hastings will service the whole Peninsula, giving women hope and support from conception through to birth.

Alongside this new service, The Babes Project is finalising plans for a residential program where up to three women will live at different points along the journey of becoming a Mum.

Just last week Eternity ran a story featuring Melinda Tankard Reist calling on more Christian organisations to provide housing for pregnant women in crisis. The Babes Project’s plans for a residential space are an example of Christians taking initiative in this needy area.

Helen says the idea is to support women who are struggling to enter the rental market and need a stable place to raise their child. “It’s one thing to say you can raise your child, but when you’ve got issues like housing and an unstable environment, it’s really hard to focus on parenting.

“The overall aim is to actually take girls that need a bit of a hand to get private rental ready. That’s the goal of this house. It’s a bit of a pilot programme, to see if we can come up with a model that we can duplicate.”

The house will support women from conception to their baby’s first birthday, and will aim like the rest of The Babes Project, to provide wholistic care.

To volunteer at either hub, to get your church behind The Babes Project or to support them financially, visit their website.