Empowering our community through access and knowledge.

Mission

To remove barriers to birth control and provide individuals a step ahead to maximize their potential in the Appalachian Highlands.

Our vision is a community where all people can reach their goals, maximize their potential, and realize their dreams.

Herstory

A Step Ahead Foundation was founded in Memphis in 2011 by Claudia Haltom, driven by her 17 years of experience as a Juvenile Court Judicial Magistrate. From the bench, Haltom often saw and ruled on cases in which the parent was a single mother who had become pregnant while she was in school, dropped out, and had one or more babies before she was emotionally, physically, or financially prepared to provide for her children.
Before A Step Ahead Foundation was founded, these young women did not have easy access to the most effective methods of reversible birth control. Claudia Haltom resolved to devote her retirement to make sure these young women had access to birth control so they could plan their futures and achieve their full potential.
After seeing the success of A Step Ahead Foundation in Memphis, numerous regions across the state have sought to bring the life changing mission of A Step Ahead to their cities. We are one of six A Step Ahead affiliates across the state, and are working toward seeing the same incredible outcomes in Tri-Cities as seen in Memphis.

Services

​We cover the entire cost of obtaining a birth control method. ​Methods covered include IUDs, the hormonal implant, the birth control shot, and the birth control pill.

We cover the cost of your Wellness testing: Includes STI testing, pregnancy testing, one-on-one counseling, insertion of device, and follow up visit.

We cover the cost of removal of a long acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) device.

We provide FREE transportation to and from partnering clinic providers through Lyft or a gas card reimbursement.

We connect you with a partnering clinic, arrange transportation if need be, and provide you with free reminder calls, emails, or text messages when you call to make an appointment.

We provide free reproductive health education to anyone in our region, using evidence-based curricula, to increase reproductive health knowledge and prevent unintended pregnancy.