(File Photo)
When 15-year-old Ivette Rodriguez learned she was pregnant, she faced the next nine months without much support.
“It wasn’t easy,” she said. “I didn’t have many people educating me or walking beside me.” Now she works with other struggling parents to make sure they have assistance that she didn’t.
Rodriguez says that despite family and friends advising her to end her pregnancy, she chose to have her child.
“Family, people in the church, friends [said] that I wasn’t going to make it, that I was going to fail at everything, that I wasn’t going to be able to finish school, that a child would just be the end of my life,” she remembers. “Everyone was telling me to abort my son. They told me that that would be the best thing for me so that I could be able to enjoy my life and be able to experience everything that I wouldn’t be able to experience if I had my child.”
But Rodriguez did have her child. And shortly after the birth of her son came the birth of a vision: to provide resources to other expecting and new parents in the community who might be facing the same challenges she faced. Nearly 10 years ago, she opened Beyond Pregnancy Care Clinic in Kissimmee to provide for the needs of struggling new parents in the community. The clinic offers free pregnancy tests, limited ultrasounds, mentorship, parenting classes, maternity and baby needs, abortion healing, and abortion pill rescue. They partner with Healthy Start, Help Now, and some counseling services, as well.
The clinic opened a second location in St. Cloud two years ago, and served 600 clients last year, according to Outreach Coordinator Rayza Rivera. “Whether they’re dealing with homelessness, hunger, insurance, health care, anything for babies, any crisis they’re dealing with—we’re here to help them,” she said. “We offer free resources to all families that are either expecting or have a child under the age of one.”
Thursday, Beyond Pregnancy Care Clinic will host its annual Day of Remembrance from 2-6 p.m. at its Kissimmee location at 1541 Mill Slough Road. Each child’s name will be written on a balloon as a tribute, and guests will also have an opportunity to paint stones with names, messages, and words of love to be placed in tribute in the clinic’s Butterfly Memorial Garden.
The event creates a space for individuals and families to honor and remember the lives lost during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood, Rivera said.
“We know that behind every family we serve is a story. Some stories include joy and new beginnings, while others carry grief, loss, difficult decisions, or experiences that are not always easy to talk about,” she said. “Our hope is that this Day of Remembrance will remind those who attend that their stories matter, their lives matter, and they do not have to walk through difficult seasons alone.”
For more information, visit beyondpregnancycare.com.
