“Find Them, Love Them”: New Respect Life Radio Episode Talks Marisol Health Mobile
- Denver Catholic Staff
- Oct 9
- 5 min read
The innovative new effort will bring compassionate care to the streets of Denver, meeting women right where they are, and where this sort of care is needed most.
When Teresa Gomez drives the bright teal Marisol Mobile Health unit through Denver and Aurora, people can’t help but look. Some are curious, others wave or ask questions. But for Gomez, program manager for the new Catholic Charities initiative, every turn of the wheel is a reminder of her mission: to find them and love them.
“It’s to seek after and find women who are abortion-vulnerable and meet them where they’re at — not only physically and geographically, but also emotionally and spiritually,” Gomez said in the latest episode of Respect Life Radio. “And just love them by offering compassionate, life-affirming and dignified care.”
The latest episode of Respect Life Radio features Gomez in a moving conversation with Emma Ramirez, director of Respect Life Denver, a ministry of Catholic Charities, and Jennifer Torres, the ministry's community engagement coordinator, about the origins and purpose of the Marisol Mobile Health Unit, a new outreach of Catholic Charities designed to bring pro-life medical care directly to women most in need. The unit is scheduled to begin serving patients in early October.
Meeting Women Where They Are
Gomez explained that the mission of the mobile clinic stems from a quote by St. Teresa of Calcutta, which resonates deeply at Marisol Health: “Find them, love them.” Those four words, she said, “really are at the core of the mobile’s mission.”
Each week, the mobile unit will park in Denver and Aurora neighborhoods with high rates of unplanned pregnancies. The team will provide free pregnancy tests, first-trimester ultrasounds, trauma-informed counseling and referrals for housing, financial assistance and behavioral health care — all part of the broader Marisol Services network.
“It’s really about removing barriers that might be in the way of women choosing life,” Gomez said.
From Vulnerability to Vocation
For Gomez, this mission is deeply personal. She shared with listeners how, at 21, she faced an unplanned pregnancy amid depression, anxiety and social pressure to abort.
“I just really remember the shame, fear, loneliness — and I would even say self-hate,” she recalled. “I couldn't believe that I had let myself get into this situation. It was a really difficult time. There was immense pressure from the father of the baby, from peers — even my doctor — to have an abortion. And though I had that strong pro-life conviction, I have to admit that the temptation passed through my mind. It seemed like an easy way out. It seemed like the solution to a problem.”
Supported by her faith, family and pro-life friends, Gomez chose life — placing her daughter for adoption in an open process that became, as she said, “a joy and a blessing.”
Today, that same daughter is 28 and works for a nonprofit serving the homeless.
“God truly writes straight with crooked lines, and he uses everything,” Gomez said. “Our brokenness, shortcomings — and he really used the birth of my daughter and other things to lead me back to him and into a deep conversion.”
Her experience now drives her to meet women with empathy rather than judgment. Having been in these women's shoes, Gomez intimately understands the experience of the women she encounters.
“We have to meet women first, address their needs, and help them in order to help them and the baby as well,” she said.
Upholding Dignity, Reflecting Christ
When asked how the work of Marisol Mobile reflects the Church’s teaching on human dignity, Gomez responded without hesitation.
“It really begins the moment we encounter a woman in need,” she said. “She is, like you said, deeply vulnerable at that moment and really uncertain. And so upholding her dignity first by listening to her with compassion and respect and in a nonjudgmental way is really important — affirming that she is created in the image and likeness of God and helping her feel empowered to choose life.”
She noted that the mobile’s free ultrasounds are among the most powerful tools in this ministry. Through those ultrasounds, parents will be able to see and hear firsthand the miracle of life, and encounter the God-given dignity of their children.
“These moms and dads, as well as their support system, are going to be able to see the beauty and humanity of their unborn child and hear the heartbeat,” Gomez said.
To accomplish their lofty mission, the team begins each day in prayer, asking for the grace to see each woman, father and child as God sees them, and to serve them as beloved children of God. Receiving such compassion, Gomez said, can be transformative for the patients.
“Before we start serving patients, we gather to pray for the women the Holy Spirit will bring to us,” Gomez shared. “Sometimes that moment of vulnerability can be the moment of conversion.”
Building a Culture of Life on Wheels
Even before officially opening, Marisol Mobile has already become a beacon of hope. Gomez recounted the response at recent community events: “Anytime I take the mobile somewhere, it’s met with such great enthusiasm. There’s this palpable sense of hope. People want to get involved.”
At one recent visit to the Aurora Planned Parenthood, as the facility officially closed its doors, passing high school students stopped to tour the mobile.
“A couple of girls came back and said, ‘Is there a way we could bring this to our high school?’” Gomez said. “That’s how we start a culture of life.”
She sees the mobile unit as both a practical outreach and a powerful witness: “It can reach thousands of people that just can’t happen with a stationary location,” she said. “So it’s a gift.”
As she looks ahead, Gomez hopes the mobile unit will continue that legacy of mercy and evangelization: “Ultimately our goal is to lead the women we serve and the people we're going to encounter and their loved ones to Christ,” she said. “So we have to meet them where they're at. For some women, this might mean they're open to praying, but more likely, we're going to have to minister to them by being Christ's hands and feet and really serving them with his love, his compassion and his mercy.”
How to Help
The Marisol Mobile Health Unit is seeking volunteers and financial support to sustain its operations. Gomez encourages anyone who feels called to participate.
“If this is something that tugs at your heart and the Holy Spirit is calling you, please consider supporting Marisol Mobile,” she said in closing.
Donations can be made through ccdenver.org/donate by selecting Marisol Mobile from the dropdown menu.
To learn more or get involved, visit ccdenver.org/marisol-mobile.
