Linda Luecke Potter, chief executive officer of Cornerstone Among Women, stands next to baby clothes the pregnancy help center offers women who attend pregnancy and parenting classes. (West Life photo by Kevin Kelley)

Cornerstone offers support after unplanned pregnancies
By Kevin Kelley
Rocky River
Published Oct. 21, 2009

Few of life’s challenges are as great as becoming a mother for the first time.

But when a young woman lacks the financial or emotional resources to adequately care for a new baby, the prospect of motherhood can be overwhelming.

Cornerstone Among Women sees its mission as helping young women facing an unwanted pregnancy choose life-affirming alternatives to abortion.

The nondenominational Christian organization was founded in 1986 in an Elyria storefront by Bill Williams. Cornerstone’s main location today is at Elyria’s Midway Mall. After noting that no pregnancy help centers existed on the west side of Cuyahoga County, Cornerstone opened an office on Center Ridge Road in Rocky River five years ago.

Linda Luecke Potter, Cornerstone’s chief executive officer, said the organization helps young women find community resources during their time of crisis.

“We provide information, emotional support, education and referrals for woman and families facing crisis pregnancies,” said Potter, a Bay Village resident.

Cornerstone has assisted over 20,000 women and their families since it was founded 23 years ago, Potter said. The center’s services, which include pregnancy testing, childbirth instruction, and parenting and relationship classes, are all provided for free.

“We try to work with the gals to eliminate the reasons why they feel abortion is their only alternative,” Potter said.

Cornerstone provides information on all the options, Potter said, including information on what is involved in having an abortion. However, the organization does not provide referrals for abortions. Information on fetal development is also given, and limited ultrasounds can be administered by Cornerstone’s nurses and ultrasound technologists.

“Our approach is that we just bring truth to the situation,” Potter said. “The truth would be sharing with the gal the wonder of the preborn baby within her.”

Northeast Ohio has many resources available for those facing a crisis pregnancy, Potter said, but such young women often don’t know where to go or how to deal with the situation. Cornerstone can be a good place for the woman to begin problem solving, said Potter, who has worked at Cornerstone for over 19 years.

“If she decides to continue the pregnancy, then we can help her either make a decision to parent herself or make an adoption parenting plan, Potter said.

Cornerstone itself does not arrange adoptions but refers to adoption agencies.

Although Cornerstone encourages expectant mothers to consider adoption when appropriate, fewer women are putting children up for adoption, Potter said. Although they are incapable of caring for a baby, many expectant mothers reason that they could never “give their child away” and sometimes choose to have an abortion, Potter said.

“Adoption is not a popular choice right now in our culture,” Potter said. Because adoption is seen as “giving one’s baby away,” that option is routinely rejected by many expectant mothers, Potter said.

“Adoption is seen as worse than abortion by the culture,” she added. However, Cornerstone is trying to challenge this way of thinking, Potter said.

Women just starting out on their own are the women who most often seek Cornerstone’s help, Potter said.

“Generally the woman we see the most at both centers is the 19 to 25 year old,” Potter said. Teens 15 to 18 make the next largest group of clients, she added.

Cornerstone volunteers try to help young pregnant women identify the support people in their lives. The center has a man on staff who helps work with the young fathers as well.

All of the center’s services are offered confidentially. While the center promotes abstinence and does not offer birth control, support and information is provided in a nonjudgemental, no-pressure manner, Potter said.

“Confidentiality is probably our most important product,” said Potter, who is retiring as chief executive officer at the end of the year.

Many women come to Cornerstone to get a pregnancy test and do not come back, so the outcomes of those pregnancies are never known.

Cornerstone assisted about 900 new clients so far in 2009. About 2,000 existing clients made follow-up visits.

The center offers a Life Ed “U” program in which women attend classes on pregnancy, parenting and relationship issues. After attending a class, women receive “baby bucks” they can use to purchase baby supplies such as formula and clothing from Cornerstone.

The center also offers pregnancy loss programs for those in mourning following a miscarriage or abortion.

(West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Although Cornerstone receives support from many area churches, most financial support comes from individuals. The organization has an annual budget of $480,000, Potter said.

Cornerstone has a paid staff of 17 people, many of whom have professional degrees in areas such as nursing and counseling. About 100 additional people volunteer for the organization.

Cornerstone Among Women’s Rocky River office is located at 20340 Center Ridge Road. The phone number is (440) 356-5565.

On the Web:

• Cornerstone Among Women