Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Project
ABOUT US
On July 16, 2013 our family went to our local obstetrician to hear our baby's heartbeat and determine if we were having a brother or a sister for our then six year old son. As most parents and siblings, we were beside ourselves with excitement. Almost immediately, we were informed that our baby boy did not have a heartbeat. It was in that moment that everything changed for me. I delivered Samuel Louis McCoy at 19 weeks on July 18, 2013 and he was absolute perfection. We buried him in a private ceremony on July 22, 2013. It didn't take long for women and men to come to me to tell me their stories. It was then I realized that to honor our Samuel I had to raise awareness for Pregnancy and Infant Loss. I needed to find a way to support families affected by this loss. I soon learned that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Although I got a late start, I was determined to gather family, friends, and the community together to remember all the babies, gone too soon. --Julie McCoy, Mother to Samuel
Board of Directors
Our First Annual Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month walk occurred on October 17, 2013. In the Spring of 2019 we received our non-profit status and established a Board of Directors. Pregnancy and Infant Loss is important to each of us, for many different reasons. Although your loss may have occurred thirty years ago or yesterday your baby still existed. You may have known the sex of your baby, and you may not have. You may have named your baby, or you may not have. All are welcome, no matter your stage in healing. We encourage one another to talk about our babies, without judgment or striking fear in our friends and family. We are proud of them, no matter how short their time was here on this earth. On November 4th, 2019 we delivered our first batch of Comfort Kits to the Medical Center at Bowling Green to aid parents and siblings of babies born still
Left to Right:
Shana Elkin, Julie McCoy, Charles McCoy, Julie Griffin, Julia Ullrich, Crystal Townsend
JULIE MCCOY, MSW, LCSW
PRESIDENT/FOUNDER
Mrs. Julie McCoy is the owner of McCoy Counseling Center. She is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist and works with clients affected by infant loss and infertility in her practice. She received her Masters of Social Work degree from Western Kentucky University. She is an adjunct professor for WKU and Brescia University. She has worked in many different areas including foster care, sexual trauma, substance abuse and acute psychiatric hospitalization. She has also served on the WKU Social Work Department's Departmental Advisory Committee. Julie is the mother of Samuel, the namesake of the organization.
CRYSTAL TOWNSEND, MSW, LCSW
Mrs. Crystal Townsend is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been involved with Steps since it’s founding. Crystal received her Masters of Social Work degree from Western Kentucky University. Crystal has worked in several areas of the social work field including; Child Welfare, Foster Care and Private Practice. Crystal has experience in working with a variety of youth and adults including those in foster care, those who have experienced trauma and those with substance abuse issues. Currently she is a therapist at Hope Harbor, A Sexual Assault and Recovery Center.
SHANA ELKIN
TREASURER
Mrs. Shana Elkin is the Director of Operations for Hope Harbor, a local nonprofit agency providing services to those affected by sexual violence. She has held a number of positions at Hope Harbor during a more than 20 year career with the agency. She is an active member of the community and has volunteer experience with United Way of Southern Kentucky, Warren County Parks and Recreation, and Warren County Public Schools.
CHARLES MCCOY, MA
VICE-PRESIDENT/IT
Mr. Charles McCoy is the Academic Technologist for University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Bowling Green campus. In that role he provides classroom technology support and training for faculty, staff and students. Prior to his employment with UK he was a seventeen year employee with Western Kentucky University in their IT Supoort Department. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts in Leadership from Western Kentucky University. Among being Vice President for our organization he organizes the mulitmedia and information technology. Charles is the father of Samuel, the namesake of the organization.
JULIE GRIFFIN, MSW, LCSW
Mrs. Julie Griffin is a therapist at McCoy Counseling Center. She received both her undergraduate and Master’s degree from Western Kentucky University in Social Work. Prior to joining McCoy Counseling Center, she worked at Hospice of Southern Kentucky providing bereavement services for families and caregivers of terminally ill patients. She has also worked at Senior Perspectives, an organization that provides mental health services for older adults.
In addition to her work at McCoy Counseling, she has been active in the Franklin community where she has served on the Board of Directors at Life Skills, Inc., the Boys and Girls club and Chairperson for Relay for Life. Mrs. Griffin is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist and a member of the National Association for Social Workers (NASW).
JULIA ULLRICH, M.S., CCC-SLP
Mrs. Julia Ullrich is a speech-language pathologist who loves working to enhance children's speech, language, and communication skills. She graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Master of Science degree in Communication Disorders and has worked with pediatric patients in schools, outpatient clinic, and home environment since 2019. She is currently licensed by the Kentucky and Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology and is also a member of the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA). Julia has become involved with Steps for Samuel since losing her daughter, Emma Janete, to stillbirth in July of 2021. She has participated in PAIL awareness events and volunteered to organize comfort kits for bereaved parents.