*Did this email get clipped? Scroll to the bottom and click ‘view entire message’ so you don't miss out on any updates!*
We're overflowing with gratitude for the extraordinary community we've built together during our 5-year journey!
We hope to continue to grow into the future, but we need your help. Birth Mark is at risk of closure due to the loss of our core funding. We're working tirelessly to secure new funding and keep our doors open in 2024. So today we ask you to consider making a donation to ensure Birth Mark continues to be here, providing unwavering support to those who need us most.
Every contribution counts and helps us create a lasting impact. Together, we can make a difference!
Click on any of the events above for more information and to register.
The first three Fridays of the month there's something for everyone!
If you come for yoga in the morning, stick around to connect with other folks navigating the pregnancy/newborn period in our social group! Light lunch/snacks will be available and participants will have the opportunity to browse the Giving Wall for a few necessities.
These events are open to the public, both virtual and in-person (Toronto only).
Free for Birth Mark clients; pay-what-you-can for community members.
Click or tap the images above to register today!
Grief Literacy Training Workshop - July 21st
Grief Literacy with Rachelle Bensoussan is an organization based in Toronto, Canada that provides grief literacy trainings, staff-wide education, organization consulting, as well as keynote speaking engagements. We deliver these services online and in person with a specific focus on equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
Grief literacy trainings provide a comprehensive understanding of grief and loss, including practical skills for supporting grieving individuals, an introduction to grief-related language and vocabulary, and an improved ability to engage with the complex landscape of grief and loss.
This workshop is designed for professionals who wish to improve and expand their perspectives and abilities when supporting clients and patients through a myriad of difficult experiences. Open to anyone who wishes to enroll.
“We all need that nurturing, loving, kind support. Once someone shows us how to do it, it’s like paying it forward constantly.” - Christine DeRosa to the Hamilton Spectator
Birth Mark recently partnered with the YWCA Hamilton to provide dedicated doula support to underhoused pregnant folks who qualify for emergency reproductive care beds. We are so proud of Christine DeRosa for her work in this project and hopeful that initiatives such as this one will inspire improved care for anyone experiencing a reproductive event while homeless or underhoused.
The Hamilton Spectator recently wrote an article on the program to shine some light on the issue. Read the full article here.
“Care for people who lack a stable home and family support, who are at various stages along the pregnancy spectrum — including those who have miscarried or are having an abortion — is a need that has long gone unaddressed, according to Hamilton YWCA CEO Medora Uppal.”
AWARENESS DAYS IN JULY
Birth Mark recognizes that in light of July 1st events some folks may need extra support
Note: We are full for the month of December; only accepting new clients for the New Year and beyond.
For abortion support please connect with our intake team at abortion@birthmarksupport.com. Note: Clients can still be referred for abortion support at any time with no eligibility criteria.
In light of the pandemic, we ask that potential clients be advised support may be provided virtually in some cases.
Birth Mark acknowledges that we operate on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples. We acknowledge these nations and any others who care for the land; acknowledged and unacknowledged, recorded and unrecorded, as the past, present and future caretakers of this land. We seek to live in respect, peace and right relations with them as we live and work upon their traditional territory. At Birth Mark, we make a collective commitment to keep truth and reconciliation real in our communities and in particular to bring justice for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls across the country.
