By STAN DARDEN

Special to the Bulletin

HAPEVILLE--An idea that began at a prayer group 13 years ago has expanded into a center devoted to helping pregnant women keep their babies or place them in loving homes rather than abort them.

The Pregnancy Problem Center was founded on Labor Day, 1984 with the mission of educating women on the best way to meet the challenges, problems and responsibilities of pregnancy through intensive one-on-one support.

"Since we started from a prayer group, I like to say the Blessed Mother really founded the center," said Jean Hess, RN, spokeswoman for the center, who has been there from the beginning. "It all came from nothing and grew into what it is today. It is truly amazing what God can do with volunteers."

Fran Payton, the director, is the only salaried employee of the Center which is located at 411 King Arnold St., just across the railroad tracks from the Ford plant.

The center's primary focus is to reach women who are most at risk of having an abortion because their personal circumstances are so stressful they feel they have no options.

"We want to help the person most at risk because she is so worried and so at a loss what to do," said Hess. "Our purpose is to help the abortion-minded woman and to show her all the love and care we can. We have thousands of people behind us who can aid us in this outreach. Frequently it is a problem we can help her solve...We try to help her work one by one (through her problems) and show her that someone cares. There is help. There is someone who loves her."

One goal of the center recently became a reality with the opening of a thrift store in cooperation with the St. Vincent de Paul Society on North Central Avenue. It is the seventh thrift store the Society has opened in the Atlanta area and will provide expectant mothers the chance to shop for items they will need for their babies and themselves.

"We are just so thrilled and happy that this center is open," said Hess. "There has been such a crying need for it for so long and now we feel like it is a miracle that it has been put here to do so much good."

Another goal of the center, still to be realized, is to obtain an ultrasound device that will enable mothers to see photographs of their child within the womb.

"We know this will go a long way towards helping them see that it's a living, breathing human being we're talking about here, not just an inanimate object," said Hess.

Although at present the center can only do pregnancy testing, Payton and Hess said they hope to have a clinic where doctors may donate time caring for expectant mothers.

Women of all backgrounds are welcome at the center and receive advice designed to help them in their pregnancy. Hess said even with records the center keeps it is difficult to determine how many women have been helped during its 13 years of existence.

"It's recorded in heaven, but it's in the thousands," said Hess.

The women are given some straight talk on the responsibilities of parenthood, as well as some scientific facts about pregnancy in the form of pamphlets and videos.

"We talk to them as best we can about what they should do, but really only God can change their minds," said Hess. "They need to talk, to cry, to express their feelings. Many times they're angry and hate that guy who made them pregnant and then left them. But we try to explain to them that the baby is not to blame for it."

The center teaches sexual abstinence, not only because it is morally right but also because it's good health practice, said Hess. "We just have to teach them and then give them a smorgasbord of help any way we can," she said.

Housing for the women and any children they may already have is one of the main problems the center encounters. "We try to find a home, a shelter or something for them and their children, then provide whatever we can in the way of clothing and supplies," she said. They draw on resources from around the country, like the Nurturing Network and maternity centers, provide transportation and friendship. Most women find them through the phone book or personal contacts.

Those who come find the center to be a comfortable, attractive, home-like setting with soft, indirect lighting and comfortable furniture. "Women just love to be surrounded by pretty things," said Payton.

Payton has been involved with the Hapeville center for 12 years and full-time since February 1995. She got involved in the pro-life movement when a friend invited her to attend a workshop at nearby St. John the Evangelist Church. "I just started volunteering and kept on volunteering and never have left," she said.

The Hapeville center is an independent agency that depends on volunteer workers and contributions from the public to stay in business. "Whatever we have, whatever you see here, has been donated," said Payton.

One room, filled with toys and clothing, is maintained by volunteer Sybil Facey.

Another room serves as the education-media center where expectant mothers may read scientific material and watch videotapes related to pregnancy, its challenges and responsibilities. Prospective fathers are encouraged to attend the sessions, Payton said.

The center also has a small living area, where a young expectant mother is now living. "We think this is our most precious room," said Payton.

Proudly displayed on a wall of the center is a framed picture of the late Mother Teresa, inscribed by her, which was obtained during her 1995 visit to Atlanta. "Her little nun said, 'No, no, Mother Teresa doesn't sign anything.' So Archbishop Donoghue handed it to her and she signed it."

With help from community leaders like the late Pete McKenna, president of Mack Trucks, the backers were able to raise $55,000 to buy the building and complete extensive renovations necessary before it could be habitable.

When the center opened, some of the neighbors opposed it because they thought it was going to be an abortion center, Payton said.

"The lady across the street told Jean (Hess) she was going to call the city because she couldn't stand the thought of there being an abortion center across the street. We had to tell her that we were the ones who converted the girls from having an abortion."

The Pregnancy Problem Center can be reached at (404) 763-4357.