PROVIDENCE — Donations for security improvements have begun flowing into the Mother of Life Center following an act of vandalism upon its Atwells Avenue headquarters in an apparent effort to destroy property and disrupt operations at the pro-life center, which provides assistance to pregnant teens and women.
Executive Director Gail Faraj said that a Go Fund Me page has been created to assist the Center, which offers free pregnancy testing and advice to help promote physical and spiritual well-being for pregnant women.
The effort so far has raised about $1,500 of the projected $15,000 it will cost to enhance the security of the three-story facility, located at 400 Atwells Ave., with improved lighting, security cameras and fencing.
“We are so very grateful for so many people who have called and written in asking what they can do to help,” Faraj said.
Extensive water damage to the newly renovated basement occurred at some point during the overnight hours after 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, when Faraj closed the center for the evening and joined a group of pilgrims on an overnight bus trip to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C.
“A garden hose was clamped open and pointed directly at the foundation near the bulkhead,” Faraj said.
The water seeped into the foundation and covered more than two inches of the basement floor, along with a conference room, destroying the new floor put in place only days earlier as part of a renovation of the space.
Water flowing against and around the building froze into a solid sheet of thick ice that took more than 100 pounds of rock salt and two hours of intensive labor to break up on the sidewalk Friday on the part of Faraj’s husband Fouad. Ice continued to cover parking areas on the street for three days.
The damage could have been worse, however, with Faraj away attending the March and no one scheduled to be in the office again until Monday.
Fortunately, the center’s nurse, who does not normally work on Fridays, had some sonograms to perform and reported to the office, where she found the water pouring into the basement.
“By the grace of God she came in the morning to find the water still running and was able to shut it and assess the damages,” Faraj said.
“The water was spewing all over the side of the house and there was an ice rink in the parking lot going onto Atwells Avenue all the way down to the next block,” the nurse told Faraj, after discovering the damage at 9:15 a.m.
In addition to the new floor, wall moldings and paint, along with new rugs were damaged.
The executive director filed a report with the police, who are investigating the case. Faraj also canvassed the neighborhood to see if anyone saw anything which might provide a clue as to how this happened, but said some nearby property owners only expressed surprise at being told the cause of the ice buildup along the street front that they had been wondering about.
While insurance will cover the cost to repair the vandalism damage, Faraj is most concerned about enhancing the Mother of Life Center’s security going forward.
Faraj said that recent publicity the Center has received regarding the completion of its new conference room in the basement that was to begin housing parenting classes and its Mass and open house on January 12 — less than a week before the vandalism — could have led someone to want to sabotage the outreach going on there.
“The pro-choice community has upped the ante as far as attacks in trying close pregnancy centers. They have a national campaign and it’s called “Exposing Fake Clinics,” she said, noting how each week the Center receives several suspicious calls seeking information about the Center’s services. Faraj also shared that a potential client coming in for services took a photo of the blank medical questionnaire form before leaving.
Faraj strongly defends the Mother of Life Center’s mission against such attacks, noting how services are provided in a professional manner, under the medical direction of a certified obstetrician, with a registered nurse performing sonograms, and with all HIPPA protocols followed.
She said that battles against hers and other such pregnancy clinics are also being waged on social media platforms such as Yelp, which publishes crowd sourced reviews, in an effort to steer prospective clients away from them. When such false reviews are filed — usually by someone who doesn’t even live in the region — she contacts the social media providers, whom she says have been good about removing them.
“Evil is not happy with what we are going to do in that room,” she said. “We are going to foster loving families. We’re going to foster good communication, good relationships between mom and baby. Good things are going to happen here.”
Faraj said the Center remains open while the floor is replaced again, and looks forward to the February 2 First Friday Mass, which will be celebrated in the upstairs chapel there at noon by Father Scott Carpentier, who afterward will bless each room of the facility. All are welcome to attend.
