A new home care support program based in Saskatoon, is celebrating one year claiming to prevent the apprehension of 21 babies at birth.
Sanctum 1.5 is a Home for HIV and high-risk pre-and-postnatal support.
80 percent of the clientele in Sanctum 1.5 is of Indigenous ancestry.
“We know that Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by things like homelessness, poverty, mental health and addiction. We have higher rates of Indigenous children in foster care than we do non-Indigenous children,” said Executive Director Katelyn Roberts.
Roberts explained that Sanctum 1.5 provides multiple supports to women at risk of child apprehension, pre-and-post birth.
“The success that we’ve had with these women has been because of the community response to supporting these women in our program,” Roberts said.
Sanctum 1.5 said over the past year; 23 mothers have been offered the opportunity to parent their babies, 13 have transitioned out of the program and at this time there are currently 10 in the program and 21 babies have been born, 17 are living with their mothers in the community or are currently residing at Sanctum with their mothers.
The program has the support of the Sask. Ministries of Health and of Social Services.
(Photo: Sanctum logo. Courtesy of Facebook.)