You Matter Nashville

Hope Clinic for Women with Kailey Cornett

• Jason and Mindy Hoover • Episode 20

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In this episode of You Matter Nashville, we sit down with Kailey Cornett, the CEO of Hope Clinic for Women, a nonprofit that has been serving women, men, and families in Nashville since 1983. Kailey shares her incredible journey—how she felt called at just 16 years old to support women facing unplanned pregnancies and how that led her to study nonprofit management, work in private equity, and ultimately return to her true passion.

We dive into the many ways Hope Clinic provides holistic support, from pregnancy counseling and parenting classes to postpartum mental health care and financial assistance. Kailey highlights the Bridge Program, which provides expectant mothers and their support systems with education, community, and mentorship—ensuring that no one has to navigate parenthood alone.

Additionally, we discuss the organization's maternity and baby boutique, offering essentials like diapers, clothing, and cribs, and the importance of mental health support for women who have experienced pregnancy loss, postpartum depression, or past abortions. Kailey also gives us a sneak peek into their biggest annual fundraising gala coming up on March 20th at The Factory in Franklin.

This conversation is a powerful reminder of the impact that community-driven organizations can have when they truly walk alongside those in need.


Key Takeaways

✅ Hope Clinic for Women has been a pillar of support in Nashville for 40+ years, providing medical care, counseling, and parenting education for women facing unplanned pregnancies.
✅ Kailey Cornett’s personal journey showcases the power of calling and purpose—how following her heart led her to make a lasting impact in the nonprofit world.
✅ The Bridge Program offers a comprehensive support system for expecting mothers, pairing them with mentors, education, and resources to help navigate pregnancy and early parenthood.
✅ Hope Clinic’s maternity store ensures new moms have access to essentials like diapers, clothing, cribs, and strollers—all provided through generous community donations.
✅ Mental health support is a core part of their services, including grief counseling, postpartum support, and an online post-abortion healing group that serves women globally.
✅ Volunteers are always needed, especially mentors who can walk alongside new parents and provide encouragement and guidance.
✅ The annual gala on March 20th is a major fundraising event that will feature client stories, donor testimonies, and an award ceremony for a long-time medical director.
✅ Nashville continues to grow, and Hope Clinic is dedicated to reaching both long-time residents and new transplants who may need support.


Hope Clinic For Women
https://hopeclinicforwomen.org/

You Matter Nashville YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@YouMatterNashville

The Hoover Team
https://www.thehooverteam.com/

Jason & Mindy Hoover (00:11.264)
All right. and I forgot to tell you, we do have a little teleprompter script that we read to get things started, but we end it with a question for you to get the podcast going. But it's basically how did you share your background, how you got involved. That's pretty much it. All right. Let's,

Kailey Cornett (00:30.067)
Music.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (00:36.376)
Get that going. And I wish this would stay, what did we say? 14? 14. 14.

Alright, I'm ready if you're Alright, everybody smile.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (00:58.958)
All right, here we go. Welcome to You Matter Nashville, where we shine a light on individuals making a positive impact in our community. Today, we are honored to have Kaylee Cornett with us. She is the CEO of Hope Clinic for Women. Since 1983, Hope Clinic has been a beacon of support, offering medical care, counseling, and education to women, men, and families facing unplanned pregnancies and related challenges. Kaylee's dedication to this cause began at the young age of 16.

and her journey is both inspiring and impactful. Kaylee, it's such a pleasure to have you with us today. Your commitment to supporting women started so early in your life. Can you tell us a little bit about what drew you to this field?

Kailey Cornett (01:43.153)
Yes, it's kind of a crazy story, I guess, in the sense that I was young and knew what I wanted to do. I'm sure my parents would not be surprised by that at all. I recently found a letter that I wrote to myself as like a school project when I was, I think I was nine or 10. It was like 20 years from now, what does my life look like? And I literally had a board meeting as 20 years from now, I will be going to a board meeting and writing a newsletter to my other investors, because apparently I was going to be investor as the age of nine. That was my plan.

So.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (02:13.582)
That is the best thing ever. I'm going to be going to a board meeting to make money. That's what I'm doing. At nine years old.

Kailey Cornett (02:16.585)
Yeah. Yes. Yes. Wild. I don't have twins. But so when I was 16, I grew up Pentecostal and attended a youth conference where very clearly heard from the Lord that he wanted me to serve women who found themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. And at the time, I very much viewed it through the lens of

My own experience as a 16 year old going to a large public high school where all my friends knew I was Christian. And if I was in that place and made the brave decision to continue with that pregnancy, the isolation and the shame and the fear that I would feel, my heart just really broke for that girl. And what would it look like to create a community where she felt like she could belong during the difficulty of a pregnancy that everyone can see?

But then even beyond that, so that was the initial trigger. And what that led me to was volunteering at a very similar organization to Hope Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, where I lived. And there is when I kind of realized the reality of it. It's not just 16 year old girls who get pregnant. It's these women in their 20s and 30s who are dealing with the complexities that life brings you, whether that's domestic violence or socioeconomic issues. And then I was like, okay,

Am I so sti- I know I want to do this work. I thought maybe I was supposed to be a counselor because these women, a lot of them needed counseling. I had enough self-awareness as a 16 year old to know that listening is a learned skill for me, not a natural inherited skill, especially from my family background. And so I was like, well, maybe counseling isn't going to be the way to go. But obviously I wanted to be an investor at age nine. So was like, how do I blend these two together?

So I was like, someone has to run these organizations, right? And so I chose to study nonprofit management and business in college, got to work with another center very similar to Hope Clinic in Los Angeles called Clarice. I went to school in California. And really that was where my two loves met of wanting a really healthy, profitable business.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (04:13.25)
I love it.

Kailey Cornett (04:40.787)
to meet this passion that I have for women who find themselves in an unpleasent pregnancy or other issues. yeah, so that's kind of where it is. My first career was in private equity, which is super wild, and then got to make the career transition back to nonprofit work when I moved to Nashville in 2018.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (05:02.574)
Wow, you we kind of grew up the same religiously and I had a similar experience when I was 18 and didn't know what I really wanted to do. You know, I had my top three list and all the things and God spoke to me that he wanted me to work with kids that no one else wanted or the ones that were too hard. And I was like, and then I went into teaching and that's pretty much all I got. I swear. No.

Kailey Cornett (05:26.729)
Maybe not so specific.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (05:29.224)
you know, like maybe not so needy, no. But working with the forgotten kids are the kids that kind of got pushed to the sides. Those are kinds that kind of, you know, found me. So it's so neat that, you know, you kind of had that moment of this is where the need is, and I want to put you there. So that's really cool to have that, you know, that just that innate.

thing inside of you to push you to do great things. So you started in a place in LA.

Kailey Cornett (05:57.769)
Absolutely.

Yes, yeah, a clinic in Los Angeles is where I worked with their CEO really closely. And I honestly thought that career-wise I would make, I would work at a pregnancy clinic later in my career. I was like, I'll do the for-profit thing first, make money and then go back. And then doing that for a while, was like, I have no heart in this and I can't spend, what is majority of your life at work with something I don't care about.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (06:29.442)
That rings so true. it really, really does. If you're not passionate about it, like, why are you even living like that? So I get that. Which is one of the reasons we started this is, you know, we had that desire and that, that need to feel that soul of reaching out and helping people. so, but we do for profit.

you know, to pay for everything. But we started this like, man, this is our passion project is getting to know people like you, you know, finding people that are doing good things in the community. So definitely that what you shared sings to the heart. So why, what year did you come to Nashville and join Hope Clinic?

Kailey Cornett (07:09.001)
I moved to Nashville in 2018, back in the time people said there's a hundred people a day moving to Nashville and I was very shy about the fact I moved here from California, which I still am. like, not California, I just moved here from California.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (07:15.438)
Thanks

Jason & Mindy Hoover (07:21.418)
you

Jason & Mindy Hoover (07:25.256)
I know some people can like not be that nice about it. You know, if you say you're from California, they're like, you know.

Kailey Cornett (07:28.652)
Thank

I'm like, I didn't buy my house in cash. like, I'm not part of the problem. But I actually started volunteering at Hope Clinic first and then was brought on staff in 2019, right in January. So I just celebrated six years last week.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (07:34.158)
I got a mortgage. I'm struggling like everyone else.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (07:50.55)
Yay. Congratulations. So what brought you out to Nashville specifically?

Kailey Cornett (07:52.307)
Thank you.

Kailey Cornett (07:59.335)
Yeah, so the work I did in California was for that private equity company where I was a consultant for the software companies in our portfolio and I traveled for work. It was crazy wild 80 hour work weeks. And I realized that like you talk about, you have to have your heart in something. And I looked kind of at the career paths in front of me of, do I want to work my way up in these software companies or do I want to work my way to partner in the firm?

Neither of them were interesting. And that coincided with, met a boy who is from Georgia. And so we had been dating long distance for about eight months. And at that point, when I was ready to make a career transition, there's nothing that was really holding me in LA other than my job. And so it would be nice to not for us have to get on a flight to see each other. So he was moving to Nashville at the time for music. He's an audio engineer now.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (08:34.978)
Ha ha ha

Jason & Mindy Hoover (08:53.923)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (08:59.049)
And I said, what if I moved to Nashville with you? So we moved to Nashville together in 2018.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (09:06.658)
So he said, yes, that's important.

Kailey Cornett (09:08.905)
He did say yes. He did propose two years later. Gosh, too much time later, really, in my opinion. Yeah, I moved across the country for you. feel like you can see that I'm committed here. But hey, five years in, we're great.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (09:16.321)
too much time. Like you should have made this decision faster. I said yes to go to Nashville.

you

And so you have something similar again. Yeah. See, was, I was, we both grew up in Arkansas and I went to a college there together, but I transferred to Belmont and, we didn't know each other before I did. And it wasn't until I went for a homecoming game back at that university and, some of our friends connected us, like throw us in the back of a car together to go to a store. They're like, Hey, Hoover, indeed.

Kailey Cornett (09:56.529)
Okay.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (09:57.358)
And literally it was that night and here we are.

Kailey Cornett (10:02.537)
Where did you guys go in Arkansas?

Jason & Mindy Hoover (10:05.39)
I went to to school, we went to Henderson State. Yeah, I went there for a homecoming and came back with a girlfriend, ended up being a wife and ended up great. It was a good move for sure. I'm glad. Yeah, right? We're like, and we're still together.

Kailey Cornett (10:09.351)
I love that.

Kailey Cornett (10:18.461)
dream.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. This is a bad time to bring it up if it's not.

Remember how I said I wasn't a counselor?

Jason & Mindy Hoover (10:33.067)
So Kaylee, how does your clinic engage with the broader Nashville community?

Kailey Cornett (10:40.553)
Yeah, so we're 40 years old. That's one of the most amazing things I feel like about Hope Clinic is when I came in even six years ago, is that it had this incredible legacy. If you, I feel like spend any time talking to folks who are from here, you'll run into someone who knows Hope Clinic. And that's been really a delight that we have these really deep roots. So we have always lived in this midtown area, the building that we're in right now, we've been in since the 90s, providing that

counseling for people who find themselves in unplanned pregnancy, but also that preventative women's health care and support afterwards through our parenting program. So I think we've kind of always been this staple where the only clinic and center like us that specifically do the pregnancy and parenting support that we do in Nashville. And I think that a lot of folks know us for that. But of course, as you guys know, there's a lot of people moving here too, who we would love to get to know us.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (11:39.598)
That's very true. There hasn't been much of a slowdown. It did slow down a little bit, but not too much of a slowdown. Now, everything that you guys supply, because I mean, it's not just, we're working with.

women that are pregnant. There's a lot of different things that you guys do. Like you have classes, you have, I guess like a mentoring thing through those classes, you have even postpartum counseling and everything. I would love for you to talk, especially on the classes. Not all of us are, you know, grow up with large families, know how to do everything and ready for parenthood. So how do you guys get everybody prepared?

Kailey Cornett (12:16.009)
Thank you.

Yeah, I'll kind of take you through the journey. So woman typically who's coming to us for pregnancy services will find us online or through a friend. Those are like neck and neck ways that people find us. So she comes in, we confirm her pregnancy with an ultrasound. We talk about all of her options. If she makes the brave decision to continue with that pregnancy and parent, we invite her to be part of what we call our Bridge Program. And this is a parenting program that is open to her.

and her partner or her mom or dad, whoever is kind of her support system are invited to be a part of this. And that includes education classes, like you mentioned, we have an online library that she can kind of watch on demand as well as we do live classes. So we'll do, we recently did one on lactation. We got a lactation consultant come in and kind of teach moms about the, how to have good breast milk supply. And then we also do things.

like self-care. We do some things related to spiritual development and nutrition, a wide variety of folks, a wide variety of things in two different ways. So a woman can join our program and kind of do what we call self-service, where she looks at our whole list of classes and counseling and mentorship and chooses what she wants and what's going to be a fit for her season of life.

And then we have what's called our cohort model where we group moms by their due date and we kind of have a plan for them to attend. So they get to know each other. The piece of that that I really love is the community. These moms get to meet each other and they're all going to be due in the same three months. And so they're getting to go through pregnancy and early motherhood together. That program in both directions lasts until that child's a year old. So we're kind of giving them that first head start into parenting. We know parenting is of course a lifelong journey, but

Jason & Mindy Hoover (13:55.501)
Whoa.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (13:59.286)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (14:18.013)
We want to get some good roots down.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (14:20.386)
That is, that's amazing because especially for first time parents, you have so many questions and there are a lot of people that you, don't know who to go at. mean, you can go online, I mean, if you've got real, what's not real, you've got people that are going through the same, you know, kind of in the same trimester. So they're experiencing a lot of the same things that are happening. love that.

Kailey Cornett (14:31.443)
So scary.

Kailey Cornett (14:44.851)
Yeah, and there's a lot of evidence research done on how it's called centering pregnancy. It's actually a way that even prenatal care can be provided is that when you're in this group setting and Mary asks a question that you hadn't really thought of, but you actually were like, I would love to know the answer to that. You get a better experience. And so our moms are learning from each other.

Usually in those gatherings we have a facilitator but we also will bring in specialists so we'll have like a doula come and talk about the importance of doula as they're preparing for labor and delivery. And there's this group learning aspect where I think creates a richer experience for each woman.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (15:24.718)
I agree and I wish I had that support. You know, I was a young mom and well, I was 23 at the time but you know in the South that's old I'm But just going through that I mean how rewarding that would be being with other people and just having that support but you don't just support.

Kailey Cornett (15:35.357)
Yeah.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (15:47.106)
through that. Like you guys also have like a store and different things as well. So please explain that for the parents that take part in this program. What they get in return tangibly.

Kailey Cornett (15:51.357)
Mm-hmm.

Kailey Cornett (15:56.873)
Yeah, so I just like having kids is expensive. We all know that. And so we want to alleviate some of that financial burden through we have what we call our maternity store or baby store, baby boutique, and it is full of clothing and diapers and wipes and cribs and car seats. All of it of which has been donated. I would say clothing wise about half of its brand new stuff. We all have. I know I have a whole outfit that my son like

never wore because I forgot it was in the closet and he grew out of it. And so it's stuff like that as well as we get some really gently news, beautiful stuff like cribs and bassinets and things like that where she can come and shop. I would say for the people that participate in our program they at least never buy diapers that whole first year of that child's life.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (16:48.518)
wow. That is amazing. That's a huge relief. I remember us having to buy diapers and taking out a loan for all of them. I mean, it's like we can reuse that one. Right? I remember. remember. I'm kidding. I remember with our son and the school asked like what we're going to do a baby shower. What kind do want? I'm like diaper. I want a diaper shower. That's what I want. And that was the biggest blessing.

Kailey Cornett (16:51.837)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (17:10.633)
I think my husband calculated the cost of each diaper change. He's like, okay, if we approximately use three wipes and we use this, but he is like, and if we change it and then he poops again, he's like, that just costs another 67 cents, bud. Are you sure you're prepared to do?

Jason & Mindy Hoover (17:28.61)
Are you done? Are you finished this time? reminds me of the father off of the show, Everybody Hates Chris. Did you all ever want, or I know you did, where he would, like they would- Everything's money. that was $1.32 worth of meat you threw away. Yeah, exactly. That's awesome. love But it's a real problem. It's a real problem. But you know, are we going to wash those diapers out? No, we are not.

Kailey Cornett (17:29.937)
Are we done? Or we're gonna leave?

Kailey Cornett (17:46.249)
My husband when it comes to diapers.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (17:55.714)
There are some special people here on earth that like doing that, but I am not one of them.

Kailey Cornett (18:00.169)
thought about

Jason & Mindy Hoover (18:02.358)
Yeah. Now give me a pamper. So what are some of the significant challenges that you guys face in this, today's healthcare market?

Kailey Cornett (18:12.807)
Yeah, that's a great question. I would say our clients are coming up against a handful of things. I would say for people who are related to our pregnancy services, it's really that oftentimes this pregnancy is one of many things going on in her life that are a challenge. Housing usually being one of them, employment.

Maybe she's in an unhealthy relationship or her own mental health is not very strong. And so she's looking at this pregnancy, which is just one of many crises in her life and thinking like, how could I possibly handle one more thing on top of what I have in front of me? And that's where our team of what we call client advocates come in and help her really unpack what are the main stressors? What are the resources that we can get you, whether that's at Hope Clinic or one of the other amazing nonprofits in town.

so that we can kind of remove those obstacles in the way of her choosing life. I would say those top ones are definitely typically housing and mental health. We're lucky that in-house we can provide that counseling for her for free as part of that program with our licensed therapists. We're not a housing agency, so that's a little bit tougher. We did just launch a rent assistance program where we're able to cover three months rent, really kind of targeted around usually delivery.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (19:32.526)
Hmm.

Kailey Cornett (19:38.683)
So we don't want a woman to be anxious about losing her housing because she's out of work because she's just delivered. And so through a grant that we received, we're able to cover those months, which is awesome. Yeah.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (19:50.402)
That's amazing. That really is. And like you said, there's so many things happening and just another thing on top of them. That three months is a burden taken off of them and they can focus on what matters right there in front of them. What I love more than anything is that you don't just go, hey, why don't you just want to keep your baby? You like actually give support. You give mental support, physical support, classes. You said they have the education.

You're even putting your money where your mouth is and helping them in their months of most dire need. it's, I just think it's just so admirable to have a program that's just so fully faceted to help every situation. You guys have thought of everything, really, when it comes down to it. So I applaud you guys. You're doing great work.

Kailey Cornett (20:41.769)
Thank you. Yeah, I'll say this and some of your listeners may be aware that obviously in Tennessee, we have one of the most life-affirming laws in the country that it's almost in all circumstances illegal to get an abortion. And when that happened, that deposition happened in 2022, all the reasons why a woman is considering terminating still exist. All of those really valid experiences and challenges, those are still there.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (21:04.685)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (21:09.839)
even with the changes in legislation that we're grateful for, but the work still has to be done. And so that's why we continue to exist because that will be what we do.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (21:15.49)
Right. Right. Yeah, the void is still there. Yes. And yeah, so just thank you. Because I know that's one of the biggest complaints, you know, from just everyday citizens is like, they're wanting to outlaw all these things, but they're not wanting to help the girl that's in need. So I love it. I love it.

Kailey Cornett (21:34.355)
Yeah, yeah. And I'll tee your question to Jason about healthcare. So for our preventative women's healthcare, I feel like some of the challenges that the women we serve there who are getting their annuals with us or STI testing or even just a woman problem visit is they may be new to town and not have connected with a provider yet, or they don't have insurance, or really they're just looking for...

kind of a higher level of anonymity and care. So our team of advanced practice nurses, like nurse practitioners and nurse midwives who provide those appointments, we spend 45 minutes with each of those women, even if just she's presenting as like, think I have a yeast infection. We're gonna spend time with her to really talk about her physical health history. We're gonna talk about her mental health. We're gonna make, again, referrals to the needs that she has, not just kind of getting her in and out.

Really, yeah, our model really creates space to address more than just whatever concern she walks through the door with so that she can walk away feeling more educated about herself, how her body works, and so she can make healthier choices in the future.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (22:31.534)
like a bandaid.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (22:45.312)
It also creates trust. Women have to have that trust in their physician or their caregiver. Women are so easily told, you're crazy. is that really how you feel when you go into an appointment? So just take this medication. You'll be fine. And you're like, no, I have some valid concerns. I would like for you to hear me out. I'll.

Kailey Cornett (22:58.333)
Yeah, let's get this, just have this medication or just do this thing.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (23:07.758)
I have always found that going to a nurse practitioner, they just have a different set of ears. They look at everything and they really take the time with you. And so I love that.

Kailey Cornett (23:15.038)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (23:21.449)
amazing team.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (23:23.598)
So on that journey, what's a story that sticks out to you that just really, I don't, touched your heart.

Kailey Cornett (23:35.741)
Yeah, we have a woman who shared her story recently with us. Her name is Kayla. And what's so crazy about this work is that when you consider the length of time that we're with someone in our parenting program, it's up to 20 months, which is like in nonprofit years, feel like forever.

So we had a woman who says, think I'd like to share my story with you all of how you've impacted me. And I was like, okay, cool. I don't know if I know her. And then I realized, I do know her, because two years ago we did XYZ. So she found us really early on in her pregnancy and initially was excited. I think she was like hesitantly excited about the pregnancy. When she told her boyfriend, he was like, nope, I'm out. I'm not interested in being a part of this.

and that was her housing. And so she was then left with a really tough decision of keeping this housing, keeping this relationship that she had thus far enjoyed. And at the same time, I think her employment ended or like because of pregnancy, she wouldn't be as readily able to continue her employment. So.

She came to us then with a very different story of, think I still want to do this, but my life circumstances look very different. So she was one of the first people we did. We actually covered her car payment for a few months, right at the beginning of her pregnancy so that she can try to get employment for the rest of her pregnancy. Joined our parenting program, joined our cohort model. So she got to meet other moms, because this was her first child. just kind of hearing.

how she's reconnected. actually works for one of the housing authorities now and helps other moms get housing, which is like such just a beautiful full circle moment. Her daughter's just over one years old now. And it's just really beautiful to see the two of them together thriving and her able to give back to other moms. I think that's what surprises me the most about the women that we serve is how incredibly resilient they are and how generous.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (25:22.294)
I love that.

Kailey Cornett (25:45.191)
we'll get people who will donate formula that they ended up not. They're like, hey, I got this can and I actually don't need it. Can I give it back to the store so a mom can get formula? Or we actually are done with these clothes now. Can I donate them back? And it's really beautiful to see that kind of pay it forward attitude that they have.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (26:04.972)
I love that. Now what type of items do you guys like take for your store?

Kailey Cornett (26:12.467)
Yeah, so we take clothing up to 2T that's like gently used. We're always in need of diapers. I would say that even some of those larger sizes, one of the things that may be difficult is for a mom who has a young kiddo and then she gets another pregnancy diagnosis and she's going, I have a one year old. That's it still in fives and sixes.

and I'm barely getting those diapers and we can help alleviate some of that burden while she's processing through this new pregnancy. Some of those big items like cribs and strollers are always great. We have a full list on our website and we even have an Amazon shopping list that we update regularly with some our top needs are like, I think right now on there we have a specific brand of baby monitors and like safety locks that we want all of our moms to walk away with.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (26:52.791)
I love that.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (27:02.524)
great. I love that. Then they can also secure their home.

Kailey Cornett (27:06.333)
Mm-hmm.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (27:07.95)
So if somebody's listening and they're thinking, don't know what I would this be for me. What would you say to them? What, what, what person is someone that you are able to help? I guess. don't know if I'm saying that correctly, but yeah.

Kailey Cornett (27:28.647)
Yeah, I would say that.

I think with any time you see a positive part, I'll talk about kind of our services differently. So for our pregnancy services, I think that any time you see kind of those two lines, it's scary, even if you've been trying for years and years and years. know that when I, my husband and I got pregnant last year, I was like, we wanted this, this was planned and this is still terrifying. That's very normal. I want to normalize that for everyone.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (27:53.698)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (27:59.069)
But if you get to the next week and you're still feeling more scared than excited, if on that spectrum of joy to fear, you're feeling that fear or you feel like you're isolated and you haven't been able to tell anyone, we would love to be that first person that you tell to kind of walk through that experience with you. It's what we do day in and day out. We did 700 pregnancy tests last year and walked through that conversation with 700 women of

just the complexities that come with a positive pregnancy. And of course, connecting you to resources if you need those. I would say for women in Nashville who are self-employed or contractors and don't have traditional insurance, we'd love to be your healthcare home for your annual. That is a great connection for us. As well as if you are postpartum and dealing with any kind of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

or if you experience pregnancy loss, that's what our team of therapists are really specialized in is kind of that perinatal space of mental health. And our professional counseling outside of our parenting program is available on a sliding scale. So we really try to make it affordable based off your income.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (29:08.386)
That's great.

And I really love and appreciate that, like the PTSD, because right after you have that baby, all the money has gone out the window and the thought of, oh, I need to go to counseling, there's something extra that's wrong. I mean, paying $150, $200 for each counseling session, it might as well be a thousand.

Kailey Cornett (29:27.241)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (29:31.709)
Yeah, absolutely. Just so I'm really clear with everyone, our sliding scale is 25 to 75 a session. Like the most anyone would pay is 75 a session and that's when you're like, usually money isn't usually an issue.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (29:39.332)
wow.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (29:44.652)
Now you guys still take insurance. you do not. No insurance.

Kailey Cornett (29:47.143)
We do not, nope, we don't actually sell. So it's all cash-pay. And so I'll give you an example of a woman. This was during COVID. A woman was coming in to get her annual. And she gave us a call. I happened to be at the front desk. And she was like, I need to cancel my appointment today. I was like, I'm so sorry to hear that. Would you like to reschedule? And she said, well, I don't really know. I'm a server. And so my hours have been cut because of COVID. And I'm not making any money.

And I was like, just come in. We just want to see you. Like money should never be a barrier to someone getting that preventative care or getting help for a gynecological issue that they have. So we never want cost to be a barrier for any of our services.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (30:26.573)
Yeah.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (30:36.984)
That's perfect. That definitely helps with the mental health as well. you all help with mental health or do you all work with another nonprofit for women that are having those challenges?

Kailey Cornett (30:54.473)
Yeah, so our professional counseling that we have here, we have two therapists and then we have a team of interns that do kind of your traditional mental health therapy. We kind of lump them into the categories of like perinatal pregnancy loss, which could include miscarriage or even things like failed IVF and failed adoption. Like really that sense of grief around pregnancy and parenthood. And then we also,

Jason & Mindy Hoover (31:14.7)
Yeah.

Kailey Cornett (31:24.325)
I definitely want to mention we have an amazing post-abortion support group. So it's called Uncovering Hope. And our group meets every single Wednesday in the evening over Zoom. what we've really, we've always offered some form of post-abortion counseling because it's very core to our mission that women who have had that experience know that there is grace, there is forgiveness, there is healing available.

And so our current iteration is this online support group that is modeled after 12 Steps Celebrate Recovery, where we have an opening reading, open sharing, closing reading, and prayer. And so we've designed it to be a really good first step for someone who maybe hasn't told anyone that they've had an abortion. Maybe it was 30, 40 years ago, and they're just now at the spot where they're ready to talk about it. Maybe it was last week.

and that grief is really fresh and raw. The space that we're able to create, it's led by a therapist and then a post-abortive woman herself. And they just create this really beautiful environment where maybe you can just go on and listen and not even say anything for the first couple sessions. But then when you're ready to share, there's this really welcoming group of women who understand more than anything. So that group, we served over 100 women that last year through that. And because it's online and it's

a support group were able to serve women even across state lines. So we had women from all over the world who joined that group at weird hours of the day because of their time zone, but just really wanted to create that healing opportunity for people.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (32:58.434)
Right.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (33:02.474)
That's That is amazing. That's when technology is helping us. But to reach people around the world where they may not have something like this in their area, that's, I like that.

Kailey Cornett (33:06.929)
Yes.

Kailey Cornett (33:18.215)
I'm always amazed how people find us for that group. think like, obviously we do some SEO work somehow, but I think a lot of it's just God guiding people. got a call, this was maybe last year sometime, from a professor at a university, I think in Ohio, and he was calling me and he was like, I've got a weird question. I have a student who came to me and told me that she got an abortion and she's feeling, she doesn't know how to process and.

I started Googling and I found you all. Can you tell me more about your group? And then like, this is a professor from like some random university who just found us on Google and was checking it out for his student. And I was just really impressed by that. And I was like, yeah, here's information. We'd love to have her, it's free. Just have her join the Zoom call.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (33:49.166)
Wow

Yeah.

Good people.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (34:04.782)
I love that so much. Now what significant challenges do you guys have there? Do you have any problems with fundraising or are there any other obstacles that you guys have to kind of work through a lot?

Kailey Cornett (34:20.807)
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the typical nonprofit challenges is the need is great and how do we figure out what our thing is. One of our core values is being client focused and a subheader for that is keeping the main thing the main thing. There's a lot of great work we could do in this city and for us it's finding the right balance of

meeting her needs and then also trying to be excellent at everything that we do. There's always ways we could partner better with other organizations that are doing great work. I would say that there's always a need for volunteers and I would say their greatest need very candidly is our mentors. So within that parenting program we would love to pair every mom and dad with another mom and dad from the community.

We have about 100 women in that program and we have only about 30 mentors right now. So the wide gap that we want people to obviously be thoughtful about because you're you're engaging in someone's life. And so we want that the commitment level is pretty high. Time wise, it's not actually quite high, but that emotional commitment is high. And so we are we're just we're just hopeful that the Lord will bring us people who have a heart to listen well.

to pour into people. And how I like to say is you just have to be a couple steps ahead of her. Doesn't mean you have to be the perfect mom or perfect dad. Doesn't mean you have to have years and years of wisdom. But if you have a toddler and she's pregnant, you're a couple steps ahead of her. And you have to be.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (36:00.302)
You don't have to be like, yeah, empty nesters, you know, and have done it all. So what is the time commitment and like, what is the interaction like for people who are wanting to mentor?

Kailey Cornett (36:12.871)
Yeah, so the main goal is that you connect with your mentee twice a month. And we like that to be either a long phone call or a meeting in person. You're here at the clinic or at a coffee shop. We try typically to connect a mentee to a mentor just at the beginning of her second trimester. Usually she gets a little bit more energy at that point and she's ready to engage with some more things. And a lot of that

Initial work is just rapport building, just getting to know each other, being for her. I like to use a phrase of like cultural humility, recognizing that people's life experience may look very different than our own. And how do you be curious about that rather than being put off? And so we want to foster that environment where she feels like she is really welcomed and accepted in the state of life that she's in.

The nice thing about our mentors is that they don't have to be nurses, they don't have to be counselors. We have those. Really, it's more of like being an auntie or a sister or I don't know what those equivalents are for guys, because I feel like they're so bad at building relationships. But we want our dads to get to know their dads too. We tend to do that more in a group environment, because guys tend to like to do things in groups rather than like face to face, unless maybe there's like a sports game involved.

Yeah, we would love to get more dads and moms in that. And so they typically get paired right in that second trimester. And that we hope that she stays with us trailer kids a year old. So that's a long commitment to be with someone. But there's really beautiful things we've seen come out of it from both sides, both what the mentee gets in the community that she builds, but also what the mentor gets in that ability to give back and learn.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (37:40.334)
True. She knows this pretty well.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (38:11.182)
That's absolutely amazing. love that. I do. We're all about coaching and mentoring. Yes. So that's right up our alley. You know, just

Kailey Cornett (38:17.033)
Yeah, maybe coach. That's what the guy equivalent is. It's like, yes. Yeah, coach. Girls want mentors, guys want coaches.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (38:20.526)
Yes. Maybe you call it. I coach for them. Maybe it'll help you more. That's right. You know, what's funny is, you know, cause we, you know, we're in real estate, but we also, we have a, a new agent program that where we take new agents, you know, just got their license and it's like, what are they doing? We take them from that point and help them launch their business. But what I'm getting at is that.

you know, I'm seen as the coach where she's seen as the mentor. So it was funny that you said, said it like, yeah, I guess. and how, why is monster with the word men? That doesn't go. That's a conspiracy. Okay. Well, do you guys have any upcoming events or any kind of initiatives or fundraisers, charity events, any of that stuff that's coming up?

Kailey Cornett (38:53.629)
We're on to something here, folks.

Kailey Cornett (39:16.955)
Yeah, so every year we do our biggest fundraising event is our gala. This year on March 20th we will be at the factory in Franklin and what I love about this event is that we just get to brag about the women that we serve. We just get to tell these stories of the impact that this work has had and they get to share it from their own mouth. This year we're going to be sharing a story from

one of our clients who is actually a client of ours nearly 20 years ago for her first pregnancy and is expecting again. So wild timeline there that will be fun for her to explore. And really what she talks about is like when I was young and came to y'all first, I just felt like I had no one and you guys were there for me. And so she's got a really beautiful story. And then a donor of ours is actually gonna share about her experience of

getting involved with Hope Clinic from a donor perspective. And she has actually, she had an abortion early in her life and how being a part of Hope Clinic helped her find healing from that experience. And so she'll be sharing about that. We will be honoring one of our original medical directors, Dr. Anthony Tribieu. He's a Nashville staple. He is still practicing. He delivers baby just like one day a week at Centennial.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (40:27.406)
beautiful.

Kailey Cornett (40:43.815)
And so we'll be honoring him with an award for his years of service and really his commitment to choosing something better for his clients and recognizing that for these women, supporting them in their parenting decision is going to prove so much more fruitful than anything else. And so we're going to be honoring him. So March 20th at the factory, we have tables and tickets available. It is your kind of classic sit down dinner.

where you just get to hear some stories.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (41:15.244)
And how do people fund tickets?

Kailey Cornett (41:17.865)
Yeah, so on our website, HopeClinicForWomen.org, you can go to our Get Involved tab. There's a gala page under there under our events. And it should be really beautiful tonight. We're expecting about 350 people.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (41:30.254)
That's amazing. love that. love that. And the factory is so nice and fun now. We were just there yesterday. We're like, what was this place? Like every time we walk in, it's yes, it's always changing. But yes, beautiful. It is. so you mentioned your website on the website. Do they have I'm sure you have the the Amazon list or? Okay, perfect. Okay.

Kailey Cornett (41:34.258)
Mm-hmm. Constantly changing. Yes. Mm-hmm.

Kailey Cornett (41:52.489)
Yeah, under that same get involved tab there's information on volunteering there and then information if you go to give it'll have the different ways to give and one of them of course is to donate to our maternity store. So if you're interested in volunteering you can click there. The first step for volunteering with us is attending what we call an intro class and we host those twice a month on alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays and that's just a kind of Hope Clinic 101.

Learn a little bit more about us, fill out an application, and then you'll meet with our volunteer coordinator to figure out what might be the best spot for you.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (42:25.422)
And if there's like a drop-off policy for donations

Kailey Cornett (42:30.173)
Just call us during business hours and we can kind of get it organized and meet you at the back door so you can bring it in. Yeah.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (42:32.055)
Okay.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (42:36.248)
Perfect, easy. Yeah, I'm on your website right now and love the website by the way. But yeah, it's you guys have a lot on here, but I'm looking at the events page on the Gala. Yeah, definitely something to keep on the radar. The. Yeah, I the guy. I see some other things on here as well as.

Kailey Cornett (42:58.633)
Yeah, so we do a golf tournament in the fall. And then we do a Christmas event. We did that in December called Cider Carols. And then we actually do a series called Women of Hope, where we host kind of smaller salon events out of women's homes, where you invite your friends over. And we usually do some sort of activity with it's like floral arranging or candle pouring. And we get to learn about Hope Clinic. And that's just a really great intimate way.

What I love about that is that it fosters the same community and welcome that we build in the clinic, but in the homes of our donors because we're called to live on those women too.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (43:36.416)
into that. love that. Yeah. Well, this has been just a lot of learning for me. And but I love I love the heart that you bring and what you're doing to help these women. Because I just from the mental health and the

Kailey Cornett (43:37.886)
Mm-hmm.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (43:57.762)
the anxiety piece maybe of not knowing what I need to do and who I can reach out to to know that they have somebody that they can go to, and not worry about finances. Don't worry about finances, just come here, we're gonna help you. And it sounds like if for some reason there was something that you can't help with, you partner with other nonprofits. it's a good starting point, I guess.

Kailey Cornett (44:23.869)
Yes, absolutely. We can get you connected and help navigate the wide web that is Nashville's nonprofits.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (44:31.916)
That is fantastic. By the way, real quick on that gala, are they able to get tickets up to a certain date or just until it's sold out?

Kailey Cornett (44:44.711)
Yeah, we usually close those two weeks before, so I think the date might be like March 10th or something like that.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (44:50.326)
March 10th. coming up. Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, this has been amazing. It has. Yeah, absolutely. No, appreciate you taking time to share with us because I know you're very busy and your time is valuable and we definitely respect that. So thank you so much for taking an hour out of your time today to speak with us and share your story with not only us, but everybody that's watching and listening. So thank you.

Kailey Cornett (44:56.787)
Thank you guys so much for having me.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (45:19.958)
All right, so as we wrap up today's conversation, we do want to just extend our heartfelt thanks to not only you, but to everybody that supports the Hope Clinic for Women. know, the volunteers and the workers like yourself, I mean, the unwavering commitment that you guys provide and that compassionate care, you know, it truly embodies our community. To our listeners, if you're not moved by the mission of Hope Clinic, I said not. So can we like cut that?

Kailey Cornett (45:42.409)
Thank you.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (45:49.878)
Yeah, that would that would be like the opposite land. Yeah. If you're not moved, then you need to yeah, check your pulse. Okay. All right, Ryan, here we go. Everybody smile. To our listeners, if you're moved by the mission of Hope Clinic and wish to get involved, whether through volunteering, donating or simply learning more, we encourage you to visit their website at HopeClinicforWomen.org.

Kailey Cornett (45:53.065)
If you're not moved, then...

Jason & Mindy Hoover (46:17.038)
Every bit of support makes a difference to those they serve. Until next time, friends, remember that you matter, your voice matters, and together we can build a positive community. You got me all mixed up. Hey, I am not. All right, we're going to do yours and then mine, Ryan. You're going to make me do mine over? I'm going to make you do yours over, yes. You didn't have to do your first one. I know because I didn't mess up.

Kailey Cornett (46:41.513)
you

Jason & Mindy Hoover (46:46.298)
All right, Ryan, we're serious. Here we go. All right, kick it off, Mindy. To our listeners, if you're moved by the mission of Hope Clinic and wish to get involved, whether through volunteering, donating, or simply learning more, we encourage you to visit their website at hopeclinicforwomen.org. Every bit of support makes a difference in those they serve. And until next time, remember that you matter, your voice matters, and together we can make a positive impact in our community.

Yay, you did it right. Man, we almost made it without messing up. Almost. It is all good.

Kailey Cornett (47:22.217)
We gotta get.