The official tally of Flora’s Walk 2023 was a phenomenal $121,290.89!!! We raised over 37% more funds this year thanks to you and have already started working on creating our promised CPMHC Advocacy Chapters across Canada. Stay tuned for more details coming this fall!

 

25% of the money raised from Flora’s Walk was dedicated towards growing our Community Pot to fund perinatal mental health training and grassroots programming across Canada.

 

Congratulations to all the inspiring organizations we are thrilled to be helping this year! None of this could have been possible without the passion and dedication of our Walk Leaders and to the thousands who donated and participated in Flora’s Walk this year. Please scroll down for the official list of Community Pot Grantees.

 

Taking a Long Overdue Break

Since launching in the fall of 2019, the CPMHC has been going full throttle, riding the huge wave of momentum we created right out of the gate when we sent letters to each party leader during the 2019 federal election asking for their commitment to the establishment of a National Perinatal Mental Health Strategy and received a promise from NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh.

Now that we’ve reached a pinnacle in our journey with the announcement this spring at Flora’s Walk by former Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Carolyn Bennett, that funding is being secured for the creation of Canada’s first ever, National Perinatal Mental Health Clinical CANMAT Guidelines, a project being led by Dr. Simone Vigod of Women’s College Hospital and Dr. Benicio Frey of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and one where the CPMHC is thrilled to be authors and principal advisors for, we’ve decided to take a long overdue break for the month of August and come back fully rejuvenated to carry on this important work in the fall. 

But before we do, we want to take a moment to reflect back on our wins together before we usher in a new era for the CPMHC and perinatal mental health in Canada.

Getting Perinatal Mental Health Onto the Government’s Radar AND MORE

2019-2022

From our E-Petition, Private Member’s Bill, and Unanimous Motion calling for a National Perinatal Mental Health Strategy in the House of Commons, to getting “timely access to perinatal mental health services” onto the Mandate Letter of the Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, followed by an in-person meeting and promise from the Prime Minister himself to improve perinatal mental health services, thanks to your unwavering support, in just two and a half years, and during a global pandemic, we managed to get perinatal mental health onto the radar of the federal government.

And then, this past spring, three and a half years after the CPMHC launched with a mission to get the government to commit to creating a National Perinatal Mental Health Strategy, an announcement at this year’s Flora’s Walk in May by Minister Bennett saw the commitment of funding from the Government of Canada to establish this country’s first ever, National Perinatal Mental Health Clinical CANMAT Guidelines, a precursor to establishing Canada’s first ever, National Standards of Care for Perinatal Mental Health bringing us closer to a NATIONAL PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY!!!

It’s truly amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish together in such a short period of time. We should all be proud of how far we’ve come.

But… we still have a long way to go towards enacting timely access to perinatal mental health services in each jurisdiction in Canada.

So onwards we go to ensuring the National Guidelines we’re working on with an outstanding team being led by Dr. Vigod and Dr. Frey that are set to be released in the fall of 2024 are widely adopted by the provinces and territories. We’re also working with a multitude of stakeholders on vital policy papers with the Daymark Foundation to encourage future government investments into perinatal mental health programming.

All of this and more will be a major focus of our CPMHC Advocacy Chapters moving forward which we’ll be recruiting for soon!

There’s lots more to do to ensure perinatal mental health remains a top priority and there will be lots of opportunities to get involved.

For now, we wish you a wonderful rest of the summer, and we’ll see you in September!

Patricia & Jaime

 

CPMHC Flora’s Walk 2023 Community Pot Grantees:

Successful applicants (in no particular order):

1)  In Regina, SK: Build a Village (non-profit organization)

–  Funding will go towards their in-home visiting program which supports families who have limited community supports and who face financial barriers

2)  In Marathon, ON: Marathon Family Health Team

– Funding will go towards the creation of an Indigenous arts-based perinatal support program in two rural communities

3)  Canada-wide (Alberta-based): The Black Birth Project

– Funding will go towards this community-based research project aimed at addressing current gaps in Canadian research about Black birthing people

4)  In Waterloo, ON: Together: Perinatal Mental Health Inc. (non-profit-organization)

– Funding will help sustain their 2SLGBTQIA+ perinatal mental health support group

5)  In Surrey, BC: South Rock Perinatal Wellness

– Funding will go towards a new initiative creating evidence-based programming focusing on mental health challenges expressed by their perinatal community

6)  In Hamilton, ON: Cherry Tree Counselling

– Funding will go towards the creation of a birth trauma health care provider training program based on an evidence-based midwifery intervention from the UK

7)  Ontario-wide: Oasis Fertility Support Network

– Funding will support families outside of fertility clinics through the fertility care stage and throughout the perinatal period

8)  In Newfoundland: NL Health Sciences – Rural Eastern Zone

– Funding will support their obstetrical nursing staff to receive specialized perinatal mental health training/certification through Postpartum Support International

 CONGRATS TO ALL!