David CookHow's this for a game-changer?
A new nonprofit is offering free birth control to area women.
"It allows them to plan out their pregnancy and lives," said Dr. Vonda Ware, with A Step Ahead Foundation Chattanooga.
It's like three birds with one nonprofit: by offering long-lasting yet reversible birth control - not condoms or the pill, but multi-year implants and IUDs that are 99 percent effective - A Step Ahead plans to empower women, mothers and communities by getting at the heart of some of the most crippling problems in our area.
• Our infant mortality rate, which is Third World high.
• Our poverty rate, also sky high, which falls disproportionately on the backs of single moms and women.
• Our teenage pregnancy rate.
"It really has far-reaching ramifications," said Rachel Schulson, executive director.
It's like falling dominoes or a breached dam. Teenagers who get pregnant are far less likely to graduate high school, which can cascade into a lifetime of lower earnings, greater vulnerability and additional pregnancies.
Women who have unintended pregnancies are less likely to go for prenatal care, which translates into unhealthy babies - low birth weight, future complications - and longer, more expensive hospital care.
And biggest of all: Single moms are more likely poor moms.
Forty-one percent of Hamilton County births are to unmarried mothers, Schulson said, and the average annual salary for a single mother is $25,000 a year.
That's jaw-on-floor alarming. More than 40 percent of all Hamilton County births are to single moms, who also earn an average pennies-and-peanuts salary of $25,000 a year. You can't raise a family on that.
Poverty is feminized in Hamilton County.
A Step Ahead, which is modeled after a similar program in Memphis, wants to change that.
"This creates a whole paradigm shift in what women think of planning their lives," said Claudia Helton, a former juvenile court judge in Memphis who helped create A Step Ahead, which has served about 3,000 Memphis women since 2011. "We want to strengthen families and reduce poverty."
It may be the most disruptive nonprofit of our day.
For the mother of eight - yes, eight - who has no insurance (her husband doesn't either) and can't afford an implant, A Step Ahead Chattanooga provided her a free 10-year IUD.
For the 23-year-old high school graduate who had no insurance and no prior pregnancies, A Step Ahead provided an implant that lasts three years.
For the 40-year-old mother of two who has no insurance, and neither does her husband, A Step Ahead gave her a five-year IUD.
The 13-year-old who came in with her mom. The 25-year-old college graduate. The 20-something mother of three who wasn't using birth control at all. They each received free, long-lasting yet reversible contraception.
All of this leads to a horizon of healthier children, higher graduation rates, more stable families, empowered women, bigger paychecks and happier communities.
"Half of women who get unintentionally pregnant were using birth control," said Schulson. "Just incorrectly or inconsistently."
It is a form of empowerment: Women are freed from a daily pill, which can be forgotten or foregone if money runs out.
It's also a form of racial justice: Many of the women affected by unintended pregnancies, and consequently poverty, are mothers and teens of color.
Finally, it's economically smart - studies show that every $1 spent on contraceptives saves more than $5 in medical costs - and financially merciful: The women who come to A Step Ahead don't pay a penny.
"Nothing out of pocket," said Schulson.
A Step Ahead has partnered with four area clinics, from Third Street to Soddy-Daisy. Women call one number - 423-265-STEP - and receive information, appointments and even transportation.
Nobody talks abortion; this is all prevention-based.
Wednesday evening, after a year of planning and great support from foundations, citizens and the medical community, A Step Ahead goes public with a launch party. Schulson's goal?
"Twelve months, 365 women," she said. "Could you imagine the ripple effect?"
Contact David Cook at dcook@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6329. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter at DavidCookTFP.