Financial Assistance Options when Placing Your Baby for Adoption as a Homeless Pregnant Woman in Missouri

COVID-19 is not the only outbreak sweeping the nation — there is also a surge in homelessness quickly spreading across the country. As businesses were forced to shutter their doors due to the virus, unemployment rates rose and new job opportunities quickly became scarce.

As a result of economic instability, domestic violence also rose during COVID-19. This left many pregnant women who would otherwise have a home without a safe living space. This increase in domestic abuse, combined with new COVID-19 restrictions and regulations at women’s shelters, means that shelters filled up to capacity even more quickly. 

Even before the pandemic hit, homelessness was on the rise. There was a 5% increase in homelessness between 2018 and 2019 in Missouri alone: the number of homeless people rose from 5,883 in 2018 to 6,179 in 2019. 

Looking at the larger demographic of homelessness across the U.S. gives us a better sense of how pregnant women and families fit into this picture. National studies show that homeless families make up around 40 percent of the homeless population and that homeless women are about five times more likely to become pregnant than housed women. Being homeless and not having access to contraception leads to a higher rate of pregnancy, but this also puts you into a higher risk category due to the very same lack of resources. 

That is exactly why Adoption Choices of Missouri is here for you. We are a full-service, licensed local adoption agency. This means we provide a variety of aid, including: financial assistance, safe housing, medical care, mental health care, and legal representation. The level of assistance available to you varies based on your individual situation and personal needs. Your adoption caseworker will help you find and navigate all the different types of support systems available to you.

7 Types of Financial Assistance Available When Placing Your Baby for Adoption as a Homeless Pregnant Woman in Missouri:

• Rent and utilities. If you are homeless or in an unsafe living condition, your adoption caseworker will make sure that safe housing is provided for you as quickly as possible. However, if you already have housing, but are on the verge of homelessness or are worried about keeping the heat on this winter, financial assistance for rent and utilities may be available to you. Your baby’s adoptive family may or may not be able to offer some housing assistance as well, but the amount of help they can provide will vary greatly.

• Food and groceries. Pregnant women and babies growing in the womb need lots of nourishment, and you should not have to worry where your next meal is coming from. Your adoption caseworker will work with you to ensure that you have your dietary needs met while you are eating for two. Eating healthy is vital to the health of you and your baby.

• Phone services. It would be very difficult to make doctor’s appointments, stay in touch with your adoption specialist, or search for employment without being able to call anyone. That is why we will help you receive phone services in order for you to schedule your appointments.

• Transportation. Simply getting around while pregnant is hard enough as it is, and you should not have to miss a doctor’s appointment just because you could not find a ride. We provide transportation services to and from doctor’s office visits and the pharmacy. 

• Maternity clothes. Maternity clothes are expensive and not always easy to come by at a thrift store or readily available at a shelter. We will work to secure the proper clothes for your growing belly. 

• Medical expenses. We provide medical care that covers prenatal check-up appointments, as well as hospital fees. There are state programs available to help you receive healthcare coverage, and we will work with you to make sure you get whatever aid is available. We will help you every step of the way, from prenatal appointments to labor and delivery to postpartum services. Your adoption caseworker will be able to go over all of these options with you more in-depth.

• Mental health care. Postpartum Depression is real and very serious, but it is also natural to simply feel some grief over your loss when choosing adoption. That is why we provide mental health and support counseling throughout your pregnancy, the adoption process and after. 

Don’t Wait to Ask for Help When Placing Your Baby for Adoption as a Homeless Pregnant Woman

In order to receive financial assistance, your situation must first be assessed. The earlier you contact us, the sooner your adoption caseworker can get to work helping you and providing you with the care you need. With different types of adoptions like open adoption becoming more popular and widely available, you can even maintain contact and have a healthy relationship with your baby and his or her adoptive family. 

Remember, placing a baby for adoption is free and never at any cost to you. You should never feel as though someone is giving you money to influence or place pressure on your adoption decision, but there are many different forms of aid available to you. As soon as you contact us, we will begin working diligently to guarantee that you are safe and that all of your needs are met.

Adoption Choices of Missouri serves birth parents statewide and beyond, please call us or text us to learn more! Call us toll free at 877-903-4488 or, in Missouri call or text us at 1-816-527-9800

Meet the Author: Kelly Felix is a graduate from the University of New Orleans. She holds a BA in English as well as a BA in Sociology. Her English concentration is in journalism, and her specialties in sociology are gender studies and environmental sociology.

When she isn’t voraciously guzzling coffee or devouring books, Kelly can be found either bent over a canvas working on her art or at her computer playing video games. She has hands-on classroom teaching experience from her time working as a substitute teacher for Kelly Services. Kelly also completed an in-house editorial internship at Pelican Publishing Company, and she finished the goal internship program at Green Light New Orleans. Kelly generally exists in a state of suspended disbelief, but when she’s not there she resides in New Orleans.