The mission of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington is to show Christ’s love by bringing transformative services to those most in need in our diocese. A key component of our mission is the Mother of Mercy Free Clinic, which seeks to provide health care services for more than 8,000 people who have no insurance in the Manassas and Manassas Park area.
The clinic opened on December 6 and in the past three weeks we were able to serve 60 patients and provide referrals to over 200 clients with complicated needs and financial struggles. In addition to providing medical treatment, we supported each patient holistically by providing resources to address individual needs. All this was made possible through God’s grace and the wonderful hearts of all those who donate their time, talent, and treasure to see God’s plan put into action.
Since we kept the same phone number as the abortion clinic, we talked to several women interested in terminating their pregnancies. We provided them with support, showed them the love of Christ, and referred those interested to additional help.
We were able to care for a woman with previous abortions at the clinic who now was seeking medical assistance. She had some reservations about coming into the clinic, but left in tears with gratefulness for the services she received and the kindness with which she was treated. She was referred to All Saints for guidance on returning to the faith.
We worked with a woman who was in need of housing and was interested in giving up her baby for adoption. She was referred to Catholic Charities Pregnancy and Adoption Support Program, which is working with her to get her prenatal care and housing.
We have seen firsthand the tremendous need in our community. A pregnant woman with six children has been struggling with domestic abuse, severe financial burdens, personal depression, and the depression of her teenage daughter. We referred her to obtain prenatal care and other appropriate services through Catholic Charities and All Saints.
We are also helping many people who call seeking resources out of our service area, by guiding them to support in other parts of Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
As St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “Faith in action is Love. Love in action is Service.” Thank you for providing the financial and spiritual support needed to see God’s love make a tangible impact in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ!
For more information on referring clients, donating resources, and referring health providers and others to volunteer, please contact Alexandra Luevano at [email protected].
Thank you so much and Merry Christmas!