Culture Shock - Meeting Your Clients Where They Are
The world is by no means small, and diversity, many argue, makes it go around. I am personally inclined to believe this fact and, in recent months, this thought has begun to influence my Pro-Life work, specifically my work at the pregnancy-resource center that I volunteer for, where our clientele is far from bland or one-note. To that end, how can we make the pregnancy-resource center experience the best it can possibly be for everyone who visits us? Perhaps by curating it to each individual's beautiful and unique culture. But how does one do that?
Step One is the acknowledgement of difference, finding joy in the beauty of that reality, and curating the humility to recognize that we may not know how to interact with certain cultures right away (due to lack of experience or knowledge). Following this, and with an honest desire to expand Pro-life usefulness, an individual should then seek to learn proper interaction because of a genuine interest in care.
Step Two requires educating oneself. Take the time to find a culture (perhaps one whose people frequent your own pregnancy-resource center) to research and dig into everything that there is to know about it. What are your chosen culture's customs? What are its communication do's and don'ts? Are there any taboos you should avoid at all costs or that could give you relevant knowledge if they are brought up amidst emotional distress, making your ability to comfort more grounded in knowledge? Are there short but appropriate phrases that you can learn in the culture's language? What do gender roles look like? The more you know, the easier it will be to meet your clients where they are, making their experience at your center even that much more personal and productive.
Step Three is to ask yourself which parts of your newly-gained knowledge are most pertinent and how you can implement them. What pieces of cultural understanding can you bring to your center and how much good can come from eliminating culture shock where you're able?
Step Four is to apply your knowledge while seeking to create a positive experience for women who may be sacred, confused, and seeking any answers at all. Showing cultural competence demonstrates that you truly care about them on a level that the abortion cabal could never reach and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to give them empathy and life-saving answers on their own terms.
What could happen if every pregnancy-resource center volunteer were to become an expert in just one civilization and knew how to cater to it? Would internal excellence become the norm? How loved would clients feel, knowing that they will be taken care of by culturally-competent individuals? How well would the pursuit of knowledge reflect on the Pro-Life Movement as a whole - demonstrating that its members will go leaps and bounds above regular caregiving in the pursuit of excellence? As is often said at pregnancy-resource centers, their mission goes far beyond preventing abortions and providing for everyday essentials. While they whole-heartedly pursue those things, their true usefulness lies in the care and empathy that they give to their clients, often filling the void of support that causes women to choose abortion to begin with. How much better could that support be if it were customized to the experience of the client? At the very least, cultural competence meets clients where they are and opens a much wider door of opportunity then standard one-size-fits-all interactions could ever provide.
At my own pregnancy-resource center, I have noticed a recent influx of Somali people walking through our doors. This has sparked a general interest in their culture (as I am a naturally curious person), but it has also had me considering how we could better accommodate this significant group that the center admittedly has very little experience with. The center has made several adjustments for the Hispanic culture (because of that group's frequent presence), but there was nothing for Somalis, and I began to wonder how it must feel...walking into a room you may already be uncomfortable in that then requires you to function without resources in your own language and to interact with volunteers who don't know your experience. It struck me that, as a center, we could do so much better and, as a challenge for my own Pro-Life convictions, I took it upon myself to implement the necessary changes (Somali language signs, observance of communication do's and don'ts, etc.).
Hence the idea for this edition was born, and my personal drive to be the volunteer at my center who understands the Somali culture in a life-affirming way was sparked. Change does take time and dedicated continuous effort has to be its backbone or nothing productive will stick. But, as stated before, that willingness to personalize care to the individual is one of the things that sets the Pro-Life movement apart, so joy and a willingness to learn should inform action at all times.
Resources: World Population Review
Photo Credit: World Bank Blogs
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