Pregnancy Center West, a pro-life outreach in Catonsville, suffered a major setback Dec. 30 when it was flooded with sewer water.
“Just about everything was destroyed,” said Maureen Kirby-Smith, president of the center’s board of directors. “The water was contaminated and it soaked into the drywall.”
Kirby-Smith noted that all the furniture and carpeting will need to be replaced, along with the dry walling. A sonogram, computer and donated baby clothes that had been stored in bins were salvaged, she said.
The center has closed until it can be restored. Kirby-Smith is tentatively running office operations from her home.
Kirby-Smith said the disaster could not have struck at a worse time. Pregnancy Center West had just started a new partnership with a group called Vitae Caring Foundation, which posts signs on buses advertising abortion alternatives.
“The campaign started Dec. 5,” she said, “and we had seen several women who responded to the bus ad. We anticipate getting a lot of clients.”
The ads will run for two more months and the center is planning to re-direct calls to other outreach groups until Pregnancy Center West is restored.
Kirby-Smith said she is thankful that a local chiropractor allowed the center to use his facilities to provide sonograms to scheduled women after the flooding.
“I was so happy to get those abortion-minded women taken care of,” she said.