The downtown Waukesha location of Life’s Connection was flooded following heavy rain Aug. 9-10 in the metro Milwaukee area. (Submitted photo)
Soaking wet diapers lost to flooding became a saving grace for the Waukesha location of a Southeast Wisconsin free pregnancy support organization.
But now Life’s Connection needs to restock many much-needed supplies to help the women and families they support.
“We knew that God had a plan and he was going to show up in a big way. And he certainly absolutely did that,” said Krystine Crawley, the founder and executive director of Life’s Connection, which provides numerous avenues of help for pregnant women, those suffering miscarriages, along with abortion reversal and other critical family support services.
The organization’s Waukesha location, at 494 W. Main St., saw major damage from the massive Aug. 9-10 flooding that affected the metro Milwaukee area.
“When the actuality of seeing our building devastated, surrounded by the water and everything, it was a bit overwhelming,” said Crawley said. “We lost all of our inventory, which was in the basement. All the things that we need for the moms and babies, our medical supplies and everything else is gone.”
But as an ark saved Noah in the biblical story, God used diapers to save their Waukesha location.
“We had a group come in to start to empty the basements of all of the items that were ruined. We had thousands and thousands of baby diapers that people donated to us, and that we purchased to help families in need. They were swollen with water, gallons of water. They actually saved our center because they soaked up so much water that it actually helped us in the end, even though everything was lost,” said Crawley.
“We found God’s little sense of humor in this. As we watched these poor guys carrying all these buckets with diapers — and they’re heavy — it was a lot of hard work. We felt sorry for them as they’re bringing them up. But at the same time, it was just the most unbelievable sight that you’ve ever seen, just seeing how God worked in saving things for us.”
Thankfully for the organization, it has two other locations to help women and families — in Mukwonago, at 801 W. Rochester St., and in a new location opened last spring at N89 W16790 Appleton Ave. in Menomonee Falls.
“We have an awesome, awesome staff, so we didn’t skip a beat at all. We were able to get that all done, divert everybody and keep on moving, even though we had to close in Waukesha,” said Crawley.
The Waukesha location reopened Monday, Sept. 8, after four weeks of clearing out wet diapers and other supplies, damage mitigation efforts, electrical and plumbing work, and floor replacements.
“It was critical that we found a way to fix everything and reopen as fast as we could so that we could serve those that are coming to us, our walk-ins,” Crawley said. “It’s really important for our mission, especially those who are, you know, facing an unexpected pregnancy and aren’t sure what to do.”
Having the Menomonee Falls center open for the past few months turned into a critical advantage, as clients from the north side of the metropolitan area up to northern Wisconsin could be served there, Crawley said.
“It’s been wonderful for our parents that have lost a child through miscarriage and stillbirth because we have sacred holding sites at all three of our centers for miscarried babies. Now, people don’t have to drive as far if they’re from the northern part of the state.”
Crawley said Life’s Connection is asking people to donate in particular critical areas: financial donations, diapers, other baby supplies, medical and office supplies.
“We haven’t been able to replace that yet. We have insurance covering part of this, but not all of it for sure,” said Crawley.
“We’ve been blessed to have people that have walked alongside us and given us donations to fill in these gaps, but we need more. We also need to restock our whole baby boutique, diapers, clothing, baby swings, all the baby items that we give to our clients and our medical supplies.”
She says that donations can be dropped off at any location.
It’s all for a nonprofit that accompanies countless mothers like one whom Crawley said came to the center “completely overwhelmed,” but found the support she needed to bring her baby into the world.
“She found out she was pregnant. She didn’t know what to do. We talked to her, counseled her, showed her baby on the ultrasound, and offered the realities of how we can help her through this situation. That was huge. She was able to actually see her baby and the baby’s heartbeat,” Crawley said.
“More importantly than all the things that we could give her, she found hope in her situation. She thought she was lost and without hope, and she found absolutely the opposite. She said, ‘I don’t feel so alone now.’”
