Who
WEN HELPS

All of WEN's clients are poor or near poor. They are girls as young as eleven and mature women in their forties. Ninety percent live in Miami-Dade County. Most are young single mothers struggling to rise out of poverty. About 20% are teens, many in foster care; 4% are under 15. Over 90% are women of color.

Most of our clients are single mothers in their 20’s struggling against poverty. A substantial minority are battling substance abuse or living with serious illnesses, including AIDS, cancer and heart disease. Approximately 12% have been raped or otherwise abused. Ten percent are homeless.

All come to WEN because they do not have the physical, emotional or financial wherewithal to bring a child into the world and feel that continuing the pregnancy would jeopardize their own future and/or that of their children.

Women who seek our help say that, if they are forced to continue the pregnancy, they will not be able to support themselves and their families. Often, women have reached the end of their welfare allotments; they cannot obtain decent, affordable daycare and can barely provide care for the children they already have.

In other circumstances, continuing the pregnancy can bind a woman to an abusive man. It can exacerbate a physical or mental illness or impede its treatment.

For an adolescent, the problem is every bit as daunting. Any teen who is pregnant faces double jeopardy; for herself, of dropping out of school and living perpetually in poverty; for her children, of being born at low birth weight and at risk for delayed development.

WEN provides the solution to unwanted pregnancy: counseling to explore the available options, referrals to appropriate care and services for those who choose to continue the pregnancy, and subsidies to help cover the cost of termination for those who choose abortion.

With WEN's help, these women and girls can be freed to protect their own future and take good care of children they already have. Because WEN stepped in at a critical moment, some will complete their education instead of dropping out of school. Others with be able to keep a newly acquired job and break out of poverty. Still others will have the opportunity to escape from an abusive relationship. Or recover from illness or addiction. Or cope with the other stresses in their lives and nurture children they already have.

By helping poor women and girls prevent the birth of unwanted children, WEN prevents tragedies for our clients, for their children, and for all of society.