QueenCare to renovate new ‘Mothering Centre’ in First Baptist Church, seeking new funding opportunities

At their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, the City of Brockville General Committee heard a delegation from Pipsy Thomson and Colleen Earle, who both volunteer with QueenCare, and will soon be renovating a new Mothering Centre and taking their efforts to improve maternal health in the region to the next level.

QueenCare is a local non-profit operating out of Brockville that provides various methods of hands-on support to guide women and families in all facets of parenthood. They offer approximately 14 free programs to women in the Brockville and surrounding community, including access to maternity clothes and supplies, free diaper and baby clothing giveaways, a lending library, complimentary postpartum visits and so much more. 

Thomson opened the conversation with the committee by drawing on personal struggles and lessons she learned through her own motherhood journey. “When I had my first child I was very surprised at what motherhood entailed and I was not prepared. I felt I had what I needed to be prepared when you think of decent finances, good spousal support, and family in Brockville. You think ‘this is going to be a breeze’ and it was not.”

Thomson shared that she found herself battling postpartum depression (PPD) all while navigating the healthcare system with a child with medical complications. “When I looked in our community for support, even for emotional support and someone to talk to, there wasn’t a lot available. There were offers for medications and prescriptions for PPD but there wasn’t that soft place to land.”

This is what led Thomson to get involved with QueenCare, to ensure that no other women in the Brockville community felt this same sense of desperation. Her colleague Colleen Earle has a background as a registered nurse, 10 years experience in the local midwifery clinic and has attended over 350 home births in the area. 

“She really realized in this position of caring for these women that there is a gap between women having a baby and knowing what to expect in their own bodies after birth and how to care for themselves and the newborn,” explained Thomson.

Earle shared, “We believe the QueenCare programs in the community act as gap-fillers. The programs we offer did not exist here and often do not exist anywhere. These programs didn’t exist 50 or 60 years ago because the sisters and the aunts and the uncles and grandmothers all rallied around and supported the women, but women who are having babies just don’t have that in society now…So we’re it.”

Earle then introduced QueenCare’s one-of-a-kind program for pregnancy and infancy loss. Thomson explained, “When we started QueenCare we really weren’t thinking about mothers and families who had experienced loss and we had a family approach us who was going through it and suggested a program.” Through collaboration with Melissa Foley from Healing Loading and Tara Kelly from the PALE network, QueenCare now offers support for those experiencing loss ranging from the six-week ultrasound to stillbirth to an occurrence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) death. 

In terms of their future steps, Earle announced that after only two years, their organization has been gifted the Community Centre space at the First Baptist Church on Pine Street. While this Mothering Centre will be instrumental in the work that they do, the space needs a renovation. “We need a refresh, we want a really clean and ‘beautified’ space for women to come with their wounds and their babies and feel at home,” said Earle.

QueenCare also plans to have toys and necessities available for children, as well as a small thrift store set up right there in the Mothering Centre for people to be able to purchase affordable items. These gently-used items and clothing are donated from the public, cleaned and washed, and then re-utilized by a family in need. Earle joked that the donations are currently being stored in her own basement until the team can officially move into their new space. 

“We will also have opportunities for women to get an assessment by a physical therapist, chiropractor, occupational therapist and all those other practitioners that many women cannot access because they don’t have the funds,” shared Earle. 

Thomson then addressed the committee directly, stating, “We really want to see Brockville become the leading example in maternal health…These are the things we’re passionate about is seeing women and families be really well and we want to get our city and our community excited about maternal health because mom is the heart of the home.”

Thomson expressed her desire to turn her volunteerism efforts into a full-time career one day but to do that, QueenCare needs more funding streams. They have already applied for multiple outside grants but are also hoping for the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (UCLG) to get behind their initiatives. 

Chair Fullarton expressed her support for the organization and shared her gratitude to QueenCare for coming to council chambers to ask directly for the help they need. Councillor Hobbs also shared her admiration for the volunteer efforts of Earle and Thomson.

“You have established so many critical partnerships in our community like with the Health Unit and the Brockville General Hospital.” 

Thomson elaborated, “The Brockville General Hospital has also experienced a high number of infant deaths in the last two years or so, so they are also in a position where they need support. The staff need support in how to debrief these situations and they need support with providing their patients with adequate care when they usually go home empty-handed but now they can refer them to QueenCare.”

Mayor Wren wrapped up the discussion by saying that although he’s not sure exactly what the UCLG can do directly in terms of funding, he hopes this delegation helps spread QueenCare’s message and mission to more people in the community.