It was an arduous process that began around November of 2021 when a small group of friends associated with crisis pregnancy centers in mid-Michigan came up with an idea to serve women where they are. Executive Director of the Pregnancy Help Clinic (PHC) Shari Boley says it all started when a few friends of hers, who were former pregnancy center directors, saw a need for women to have access to pregnancy services in Ann Arbor and East Lansing. 

At that time, though, the PHC had just finished an expansion in Brighton and was in the middle of getting ready to open a new location in Flint Township. Despite the overlap in projects and some other challenges they faced, God’s hand was evident, Boley says. 

“We weren’t even done with the Flint build-out when they originally brought the idea,” Boley says. Beginning in January of 2022 that idea became a subcommittee, which included the Knights of Columbus. By November of that year, enough money had been raised to purchase a used RV. “We anticipated it was going to take at least a year for this to happen because of the fundraising involved,” Boley says, “but they had raised enough money for us to purchase the unit by fall.”

The fundraising and purchase were just the beginning, but it was obvious that God was paving the way. “Everything seems to be just sort of God-driven,” Boley says, adding, “We have absolute confidence that everything will work out because, not just with here, but also with the other brick-and-mortars, we have seen God opening doors for us. So, we can trust that he’s going to be faithful with the other things that we need.”

What started with a seed of hope, quickly grew into fundraising efforts, the purchase of a used recreational vehicle and its renovation, as well as the locations in Ann Arbor and East Lansing where it will park to give women access. Boley compares it to the game of Tetris. In total, the launch budget was $300,000, which included the RV, renovations and wrap, equipment for the lab, exam table, cameras, wifi, and insurances.

Retrofitting an RV into a medical clinic was much different than refitting a building because it involved not only the inside but also the underside of the vehicle. That meant working with an architect who had expertise in figuring out the puzzle that included plumbing, wiring, and holding tanks. 

Renovating the mobile clinic was one small piece of the process, but Boley says it was “nothing short of a wonder to be out there and do what they had to do to make that happen.”

Once the RV was refitted and had its exterior covered, staffing it and getting it on the road was another hurdle the organization counted on God’s hand for. It was road-ready in October of 2023 and, on the day of the dedication and blessing of the unit, Boley says, the first of the new staff showed up and “was ready to hand me his driver’s license that day.” 

They hired the driver, Mike Leenheer, and shortly after that the nurse, Alahna Asher, RN. The longest wait in the process was for the sonographer, who agreed to sign on last November. Hiring Sandy Siegwald, RDMS, was the last piece of the process to fall into place. 

Asher says that, though she could have been trained to do the ultrasounds, having a licensed sonographer is a standard they take seriously. “It’s important to have a registered diagnostic medical sonographer - RDMS,” said Asher. “We always want to uphold the standard of a true medical clinic.” 

Though the process of getting on the road has taken time, Boley says each piece of it has been a gift from God. “What a blessing it is and a gift from God that the Knights have stepped up to provide the space for it.”

Asher says while it’s God’s timing the way this has worked out, she believes that when the unit is parked outside of an abortion clinic, the number of abortions will go down. “I know if the Spirit of God, or the Hand of God rests on a place, and evil has to flee.” In both Ann Arbor and East Lansing the Mobile Medical Clinic will offer women care near two abortion clinics. 

Boley says they are going in with the expectation that there will be adversity. “We’re coming from a perspective of pro-woman, and being pro-woman we know we are in the right place, but that might bring some attention from the people who don’t want us on location.” 

Fear of adversity hasn’t stopped this ministry in five decades. PHC is a nonprofit ministry, celebrating 50 years of serving women no matter their circumstances or financial abilities, through education, and support, and by giving them the hope they need to parent. They provide not only early pregnancy tests, and ultrasounds, but also abortion pill reversal, STI testing, and parenting education.

With the Mobile Medical Clinic on the road, Boley says the PHC Board is already considering its next projects. “We’re also looking at other locations where needs are, and meeting with people,” she says. “There are subcommittees formed and research being done about where to put another location.” No matter where that is, Boley says God’s hand will lead them, and they will continue to follow.