The Heidi Group: Where to Get Help

Offering options for girls, women and families in need.

A little about us...

Debbie Castellanos

"My desire to help others stems from the reality that we were all meant to live for so much more than what we've been offered. If only we could tap into that reality, then we will actually begin to live!

It makes me happy to see others truly enjoying their lives and understanding who they are. I want to help others realize that their chance for that kind of life is never gone; we are always provided a new opportunity to try again."

Women living in poverty are almost four times more likely to become pregnant unintentionally than women with greater means.

— Guttmacher Institute

programs

New Beginnings Classes
To meet the needs of mother-to-be as well as move individuals forward to lives of self sufficiency, The Heidi Group offers bilingual parenting classes which include Nutrition I & II, Labor and Delivery I & II, Breast Feeding, Newborn Care I & II, Parenting I, II & III, Financial (literacy) Responsibility I, II III and Hope Renewal I, II & III classes. Each participant is given a Social Service Needs Assessment at the beginning of the classes. That coupled with the interaction during class assists in determining the individual’s path to productivity. Classes are 10 weeks, a minimum of two hours weekly. At graduation participants are presented with a crib and mattress.

Nutrition I
Nutrition II
Financial (Literacy) Responsibility I
Financial (Literacy) Responsibility II
Financial (Literacy) Responsibility III
Labor and Delivery I
Labor and Delivery II
Newborn Care I
Newborn Care II
Parenting I
Parenting II
Parenting III
Hope Renewal I
Hope Renewal II
Hope Renewal III

Women's Reproductive Health Services/Charity Pre-Natal Clinic
The Heidi Group recognizes that approximately 52 percent of low-income mothers-to-be and 65 percent of our clients were not receiving pre natal care. Government health care in some cases provides no coverage for the mother, meaning there is no testing for gestational diabetes or other health issues that affect the mother’s health during pregnancy. Because the uninsured understood they could receive emergency Medicaid for delivery, when labor pains started, they went to the hospital for the first medical care of the pregnancy.

The lack of prenatal medical care results in low birth weight infants, miscarriage, birth defects, pre-term labor, maternal and infant mortality and ultimately childhood development.

A secondary factor is the cost for care for both mothers and infants that do not receive prenatal care. Infants born to mothers without prenatal care are at a higher risk of developing long-term health problems. Medicaid costs could be as high as $2,500 per day for an infant in neonatal intensive care unit. (Babies born to immigrant mothers become citizens of the United States at birth and are therefore eligible for Medicaid.)

The clinic serves only the uninsured mother-to-be. The Heidi Group insurance specialist assesses each mother-to-be. If she has insurance or qualifies for a government funded program, she is referred to a private physician for prenatal care.

In partnership with two physicians specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, The Heidi Group clinic serves 50 plus clients per week. We are now working to raise the funds to increase our patient load up to deliver 200 babies per month, 2,400 annually. Each patient receives the following free services:

Pregnancy Test
Pre-natal laboratory and sexually transmitted disease testing
Pregnancy monitoring
Ultrasound (early pregnancy and 18 to 20 weeks)
Parenting Counseling
Child birth classes
Medical questions answered
Family assessments
Nutrition counseling
Well woman exams
Mentoring