The Prenatal Outreach Resource Team
PORT is a multi-sectoral approach that includes partners in health, social services, and the community. The program is designed to create a culture shift in Saskatchewan that wraps support around pregnant women with complex life situations by providing early and effective interventions in pregnancy that will reduce health complications in mothers and their infants and prevent children from being apprehended at birth.
supporting women in complex life situations
PORT coordinates wrap around care between community organizations and women in complex life situations. This provides greater opportunity for independent growth and is an alternative to inhouse programs such as Sanctum 1.5 . Early intervention in pregnancy through PORT helps meet the needs of women in the community and helps prevent child apprehension at birth.
PORT Locations
- Saskatoon
- Prince Albert
- Regina
How we do it
PORT functions as a single point of contact that coordinates care to eliminate barriers associated with women at risk of having their children apprehended at birth. This intensive approach to care supports a wholistic model of care addressing the physical, social, mental, spiritual and environmental needs of the women we work with.
An intensive ‘case management’ approach is taken to identify, coordinate and connect women to needed existing health and social services. By providing holistic, trauma-informed, stigma and barrier-free, wrap-around support and by facilitating access to services that address the myriad of social, physical, emotional, mental, and relational needs, the PORT team will reduce the intersecting risk factors, thus increasing prenatal support and engagement and reducing children entering the foster care system.
- Case Management
- Referral to Physician/ Nurse Practitioner
- Referrals to obys/gyne
- Connection with detox services
- Opiate Assisted Recovery Services (OARS)
- Referral to Healthy Mother Healthy Baby
- Transportation
- Intensive cultural support
- Housing supports
- Income support
- Help securing Identification
- Referral to Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Family planning
- Referrals for counseling
- Child and Family Programming
- Spiritual care
- Mental health and addiction outreach services
- Referral for postnatal support for mom and baby
- Connection to testing and treatment for sexually transmitted and blood born infections.
- Transitional planning and referrals to supports when discharged from PORT
Our Impact
79%
of mothers involved with PORT have custody of their infants.
- PORT
4%
of infants were apprehended at birth
- PORT
17%
of infants have been placed with Kin
- PORT
141%
increase in no use
- PORT
152%
increase in stable social support
- PORT
68%
decrease in daily substance use
- PORT
THEIR STORIES
HOW You can support our programs
BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR
BECOME AN AMBASSADOR
BECOME A SPONSOR
We can help
If you are pregnant and are concerned your child is at risk of apprehension, contact PORT.
- At risk of contracting HIV/HCV while pregnant
- Mental health and/or addiction
- Previous and/or current MSS involvement
- Transient or experiencing housing uncertainty and vulnerability
- Interpersonal violence
- Complex life situations
PORT IS OFFERED IN SASKATOON, PRINCE ALBERT AND REGINA
Can occur through health or social services referral, Community identification (through CBOs and partner organizations), and self-identification/referral.
- A single point of contact coordinating hub
- Wholistic, trauma-informed, stigma and barrier-free, wrap-around support
- Connection to care, support, and services to meet all of their needs
- Physical (shelter, food, clothing, medical needs)
- Mental (counseling, support, specialists)
- Social (peer navigators, and social support programming offered in the community)
- Spiritual (cultural support worker who will connect mothers to: Elder, cultural teachings and safe care, other spiritual care, and connections that fit the woman’s belief system and needs)