Table 3.

Clients’ involvement in and experience of their program’s services.

Program Activity	Clients’ Experiences—in Their Words
Food/nutrition	I do the Breakfast Club, and we always feel free to use the kitchen—there’s a client fridge. And they have feasts, and kids have food. They don’t serve junk food; it’s healthy. Breakfast is made by the moms. It helps to learn new recipes/ideas and to try new foods. There are multiple foods that I now include in my diet that I wouldn’t have prior to coming here.
Housing/basic needs support	They helped me get into social housing when I was pregnant; it is housing with rules. I had to stay sober for 18 months and then once I graduated I got to take over the lease myself. I get anxious when I have to call “official” people. They did a letter of support for me so I could access disability funding. They also helped with transportation (bus tokens), and they gave me a gift card so I could buy a bathing suit, so I could go swimming with my daughter.
Pre/post-natal health support	They got me connected to an OBGYN, nurses, ultrasound; they drove me to appointments and followed up with me to see if I went. If I missed the appointment, we rebooked. I have check-ups here and get prenatal vitamins regularly.
Women’s health services	I see the nurse practitioner or doctor for birth control. It is such a comfort to have someone I know and trust to put the IUD in for me. I have sexual trauma and could not go to a stranger. The public health nurse makes sure I am healthy, have a regular pap test, etc. She was key in making sure I had proper care when I broke my arm.
Children’s health, assessment, referrals	My sons had vaccinations with public health nurse and saw the dental hygienist. He is getting dental surgery soon as a result. We were referred to Sunny Hill hospital and introduced to a dentist for the children. The staff made sure the children were up to date for their immunizations and referred them to an Infant Development worker.
Support/advocacy re: child welfare	When I was pregnant, the program helped with our anxiety about meeting with the social worker, and then she closed our file. Without the program, they wouldn’t have closed our file as soon. From the beginning the program has been at all the meetings with me. Because of their presence, there were no hidden agendas in terms of what I had to do to get my children back.
Alcohol and drug counselling, education, and support	Addiction services come here; I had a referral for family treatment. There is lots of support for relapse. I just signed up for the SWAG (Struggling With Addictions Group) program. I feel grateful.
Peer/social connections and groups	That’s huge here. I think that’s the main focus for me right now. All the women who did prenatal together, now our children are all the same age. I have connected with two women who are sober and parenting. I like connecting with them. That is what happens with all of the groups and for the kids as well—they get peer/social connections too.