Sidewalk Outreach

Are you interested in reaching out to women and men entering your local abortion clinic?

Are you hoping to enhance your current outreach efforts on the sidewalk?

Getting started may be easier than you think!

During our time on the sidewalk we adapted, through trial and error, to meet the needs of the women and men we met at the abortion clinic. As a result, we have been able to connect with them on a relational level. We hope to share our approach, procedures, and materials with sidewalk outreach groups in different cities so that they can maximize their time and efforts on the sidewalk. Every abortion facility is unique, and we are always continuing to learn and adapt! If you would like to share what works for you on the sidewalk, feel free to contact us to share your ideas.

Sidewalk Outreach Vs. protesting

When it comes to the context of abortion, sidewalk outreach and protesting are two very different things. Sidewalk Outreach is a peaceful attempt to offer support, resources, and relationship to women and men entering an abortion clinic in order to empower them to choose life. Protesting is the expression of disapproval of or objection to abortion, often using signs. We do not believe that protesting should be done at abortion clinics when people are entering it to receive services. Protesting and expressing disapproval of abortion doesn't often foster opportunities for conversation with abortion minded people. It often makes them hurry into the abortion clinic to avoid interacting with protestors who may come across as scary and intimidating in their most vulnerable hour. If our goal is to see babies saved from abortion, and the lives of women and men transformed, we must ask ourselves what the most effective approach is.

There are so many essential niches in the pro-life movement: education, prevention, sidewalk outreach, pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, post-abortion support, political advocacy, peaceful protest, etc. We encourage you to reflect on the gifts, talents, and passions that God has given you so that you can find an appropriate venue to exercise those gifts and make the biggest impact possible. It is so important for each of us to know our intended audience and seek to understand them. If you feel very passionate about protesting and spreading awareness about abortion, you may consider organizing local peaceful protests on public sidewalks, in front of your local court house, or on a college campus to bring awareness. However, if your goal is to impact hearts and minds for life outside of your local abortion clinic, we encourage you to reflect on how you might best accomplish that. We believe that implementing the methods found on this website is a great place to start.

A note on political advocacy: While advocating for life-affirming legislation is valuable, we don't recommend that you use your platform for political purposes. If your audience (women facing a pregnancy decision) observes you advocating for their right to abortion to be taken away it may make them less likely to reach out to you for help. Instead, we recommend focusing on your mission of empowering women to choose life by identifying their strengths and meeting their current needs.

presentation and approach

When a woman is facing an unplanned pregnancy she may experience feelings of fear, shame, identity loss, and condemnation. She may feel as though abortion is her only option due to her circumstances. As sidewalk counselors we have only seconds to show her we are there for her good. That is why our presentation matters. The clothes we wear, whether or not we use signs, the language we use while talking with her, what materials we share with her, and even our facial expressions and body language are all things that will either earn her trust or prompt her to pass us by. We must ask ourselves what truth she needs to hear first. By focusing our attention on her heart, fears, dreams, desires, and by helping her identify her own strengths and available support, she will feel safe and validated. If a sidewalk counselor focuses solely on her baby and chooses to tell her what she should do instead of seeking to understand her unique circumstances and experience, they will miss out on an opportunity to help her in a meaningful way. As we hold space for her and communicate that we care about her no matter what she decides, she will be empowered to make a thoughtful pregnancy decision.

gift Bags

Visual representation and consistent messaging is very important, especially to the generation that most often finds themselves at an abortion clinic. Offering them an aesthetically pleasing gift that is thoughtfully curated for their specific situation can be very impactful. Even if someone doesn’t want to stop and talk, if you can offer them a gift bag and get it in their hands, they will walk away with encouragement and information about their options that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. During our time on the sidewalk we have seen how incredibly impactful the gift bags can be. We have found it helpful to put together different gift bags before heading out to the sidewalk. We suggest having the following bags at your disposal on the sidewalk: undecided, father of the baby, post-abortion support, community resources, clinic worker, and clinic escort. For more information about what to put in the gift bags and who to give them to, please visit our Gift Bag page.

signs

When we first started on the sidewalk we brought beautiful signs with us that we designed. We thought that because they were pretty and had loving messages on them that they would be great conversation starters. However, when we started using them we realized that they were scaring people away in spite of their nonjudgmental messaging. We had a few conversations while using them, but overwhelmingly people just assumed we were protesting abortion and avoided us completely. After a few weeks of the same response, we decided to ditch the signs and focus on getting our gift bags into their hands. We found that people were much more likely to come over and talk with us if we weren't holding signs. We should always pursue methods that impact the greatest amount of people.

Do signs sometimes influence women to choose life? Every once in a while. But from our observation, they can often do more harm than good. In addition, the use of graphic images outside of abortion clinics often reinforces their abortion decision because they begin to view the abortion clinic as a place of safety to escape judgmental protestors who appear to only care about her baby. If you are passionate about using graphic images to educate people about abortion, we would encourage you to find an alternative outlet to do so. Graphic images can be an eye opening tool when used in the correct context. We have seen them used successfully in life advocacy classes and other educational settings. Whether the signs have graphic images or loving messages on them, we do not recommend the use of signs when seeking to connect with women and men entering an abortion clinic.

Escorts

Some abortion clinics recruit volunteers who stand in the parking lot or sidewalk and escort the patients into the clinic when they arrive. They do this in order to deter their patients from interacting with sidewalk counselors. Sometimes they even play loud music to drown out any attempt from sidewalk counselors to reach out to women and men with hope and help. It can be easy for people to observe their behaviors and turn it into some sort of battle. However, it is important to remember that abortion clinic escorts are not the enemy. They adhere to ideologies that do not agree with our own convictions, and yet they are still people with unique thoughts, experiences, and feelings. They believe very strongly in what they are seeking to protect, just like you do.

We encourage you to pursue a relational approach with clinic escorts, as you would with other people you meet at the abortion clinic. Get to know them! Asking questions instead of telling them why you think they are wrong is a great way to find common ground. Ask them their name and why they decided to volunteer as an escort. If they refuse to speak with you, maintain a respectful disposition and continue to extend your care and compassion toward them through the way you conduct yourself on the sidewalk. We recommend you try to go to the sidewalk on the days when there are no clinic escorts, so that you can more easily reach out to the people entering the clinic. However, the escorts tend to follow the groups that are making the largest impact on the abortion clinic, so they may become unavoidable at some point. Being prepared with gift bags specifically curated for the escorts would be a great way to pursue connection with them.

Getting to Know your local abortion clinic & life affirming pregnancy centers

Before getting started on the sidewalk, it will be beneficial to connect with a local life-affirming pregnancy center that you can refer women to. We recommend sharing your plans with them and requesting a tour of their facility so you can get a feel for how they approach their clients and what services they offer. Maintaining open communication with them and exploring how you can partner with them will be a vital asset to your work on the sidewalk. They will probably be willing to give you some free cards or brochures to include in your gift bags as well.

We also recommend you take some time to familiarize yourself with your local abortion clinic. A lot of times this information can be gathered from their website, but sometimes calling in to ask questions can be helpful. You may also want to drive by at different times throughout the week to observe how busy they are on certain days and if and when escorts or other pro-life groups are present. It is worthwhile to note what services the clinic offers, what days they perform abortions, whether or not they offer chemical abortions, and through how many weeks they will provide a surgical abortion. Noting how much they charge for their services is also helpful if you hope to invite the patients to go to an alternative, life-affirming clinic. Fore example, if Planned Parenthood charges $15 for a pregnancy test, you may be able to offer a referral for a free pregnancy test at your local pregnancy center around the corner. If the abortion clinic doesn't have a cancelation fee, being able to inform a woman that there is no cancelation fee if she changes her mind is powerful. You may consider going to the sidewalk on days you know that there are no abortions being preformed. This could be the perfect time to meet with women who are arriving for their ultrasound appointment and still have time to think about their decision.

Understand your local laws

Before you go out to the sidewalk it will be worth your time to investigate what your local laws are regarding where you can legally stand near the abortion clinic. We suggest that you reach out to a nearby police station to share your intentions of having a peaceful presence outside of the abortion clinic. Doing this in a formal letter is a good way to have a record of your peaceful intentions. Ask them for advice and guidance on how you can ensure that you will be abiding by the law.

It's also important to investigate what your local laws are regarding abortion. For example, In the state of Arizona, women are required to have an ultrasound and then undergo a 24 hour waiting period before they can obtain an abortion. This is the perfect time for her to reflect on the contents of a gift bag or a conversation she might have had with you.

how to track your impact

If you need help designing these or other items you'd like to include in your gift bags, contact us! We would be happy to assist you.

Tracking Gift Bags: We recommend using Google Sheets to set up a free document that will allow you to track how many of each gift bag you hand out. Click here to see an example. Outreach counselors can keep a tally while they are on the sidewalk, either on their phone or a piece of paper. They can give their total to the team lead at the end of each shift and the team lead can add it to the document. You can also use this document to track your interactions with clients and note any women who chose life or who chose to go elsewhere for care. Donors love to see this kind of data!

Appointment Voucher: Ask the local pro-life pregnancy center you are referring people to if they would be willing to track how many people your group refers to them as well as what their final pregnancy decision is. You can do this by creating a voucher card for free pregnancy services, with their permission, that you can give to women at the abortion clinic. When they give the voucher to the pregnancy center they can track the information for you. You can design and order these with ease on vistaprint.com or gotprint.com. This card can be personally handed to people, but it should also be included in every gift bag (except the clinic worker gift bag). Click here to see an example.

Sidewalk Outreach Contact Cards: You can design contact cards for your sidewalk counselors to carry with them and give to people they meet at the abortion facility. You can order one design and have each counselor write their contact info in on a handful of cards. It allows a personal connection to be made and encourages them to keep in touch. Click here to see an example.

“How are we doing?” Card: You can create a feedback survey using Google Forms for free. You can add this link to your card. Alternatively, and preferably, you can add your Google Form to your website (if you have one) and include your website on this card instead. This should be included in every gift bag. Click here to see an example.

messaging and branding

Messaging: It is important that all communication is done with abortion vulnerable women in mind. You can tailor your verbiage toward her heart and her situation. Do your best to encourage her and remind her that there is hope. Many people will automatically think negatively of sidewalk outreach groups. It is your job to show her that you are there for her good. The language that we use can be powerful and can either gain her trust or push her away. The following suggestions are from a Pro-Grace training, which we highly recommend!

Instead of “Pro-Life” try “Pro-Love”, “Pro-Woman”, and “Pro-Grace”

Instead of “mother” try “woman”; because you value the woman for more than her role as mother.

Instead of “unborn child” try “child”; because you aren’t just pro-birth; you are committed to helping the child thrive after pregnancy too.

In addition, if you are not a medical professional, avoid making any medical claims about the risks of abortion.

Branding: It is best to stick with the same few fonts and color scheme so that people can become familiar with your brand and messaging.

social media

Some of these sections might not apply to you if your group doesn’t have a social media presence or a website. They are great tools to pursue, if you haven’t already, that will help you reach your target audience! You can visit our friends at prolovetucson.com to see some of these tips in action. You can also send out weekly emails to your prayer team or supporters that include a summary of your interactions on the sidewalk. It’s a great way to keep people engaged and excited about your efforts.

The following includes advice for sidewalk outreach groups about messaging and branding on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, your website, etc.). These principles can also be used for in-person speaking engagements.

Intended audience: Women facing an unplanned pregnancy, as well as their partners. Your other audiences will inevitably include abortion clinic workers, women who have had an abortion, donors, and volunteers. There should be posts addressing these groups too, but everything that is posted should be shared with an abortion minded woman in mind. You should always ask yourself before posting something, "would this scare an abortion minded woman away? Or would it encourage and empower her?" Avoid posting anything political about abortion. Although those things are important, that’s not something that usually impacts a woman's heart for life.

Ideal Social Media Manager responsibilities:

Post something at least once a week on Facebook and Instagram (it can be the same thing posted on both, at the same time)
Commit to keeping information that might get sent your way confidential, which includes asking permission from anyone you meet on the sidewalk before sharing their name, photo, or story on social media or through email.
Post about volunteer opportunities and other needs
Produce creative, encouraging, thought provoking, and aesthetically pleasing content, add your logo as needed. The Canva app is great for this! They have a free version.

Follow pro-life groups on Facebook and share stories that would encourage abortion vulnerable women. (Abby Johnson, Save the Storks, Sidewalk Advocates for Life, Brave Love, etc.)
Update website as needed
This usually takes no more than 15 minutes a week.

We also suggest obtaining a free "google voice number" and creating a new email address specifically for use on the sidewalk if you would like to keep your personal information private.

Need help with designing a website? Contact us to learn more about how we can help you with that!

leadership

If you plan to start a grassroots sidewalk outreach group, it would be beneficial to designate a leader who is organized and willing to facilitate the scheduling, gift bag making, trainings, team meetings, and fundraising for the gift bags.

fundraising

While we do our best to keep the cost of the gift bags as cheap as possible by cutting out the “middle man”, they are still an ongoing expense. You can reach out to individuals, families, churches, pro-life pregnancy clinics, etc. to ask for donations for the gift bags. Tracking how many gift bags you hand out can be a great way to share your impact with donors.

Many times sidewalk counselors are the #1 advertising sources for pro-life pregnancy clinics. These clinics might be willing to help pay for some of your materials because you are directly referring to them.
You can invite people to donate monthly in order to sponsor a sidewalk counselor, or sponsor gift bags for abortion minded women, dads, etc.
Small groups and churches are wonderful places to find people willing to host baby showers for women who have chosen life because of your presence on the sidewalk.

If your group isn’t an official non-profit you can try to find a church or another non-profit who is willing to accept donations on your behalf and help you purchase needed materials.

working with other groups on the sidewalk

There may be other groups on the sidewalk who use a different approach, such as those who hold signs with graphic images on them. We recommend you try your best to connect with them and find common ground in your mutual desire to impact hearts and minds for life. Many of them have faithfully been coming to the sidewalk for decades. If you feel so inclined, you may want to share the "Pro-Love Nation Approach" with them to see if they would be willing to try it out for a few months by leaving their signs at home. If they are not ready to take that step, it is usually best to come to the abortion clinic on days that they are not present.

Unfortunately the presence of signs often weakens the effectiveness of sidewalk counselors, so it would be best to avoid overlapping with groups that use them. It's usually best not to have a large group anyway! depending on the size of the clinic, usually 3-5 sidewalk counselors is about as big as it should get at a time. Any more than that and we risk intimidating the people we are trying to interact with. Sidewalk counselors can be mindful and give each other privacy by stepping away when they see that someone on their team is about to enter into a conversation. Walkie talkies also come in handy if you have counselors stationed in areas that are farther away from each other.

helpful resources

Sidewalk Advocates For Life: https://sidewalkadvocates.org/

Equal Rights Institute: https://equalrightsinstitute.com/
And Then There Were None: https://abortionworker.com/
Check My Clinic: https://checkmyclinic.org/
Pro-Grace: https://prograce.org/
Health and Human Services Dept: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/index.html

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