After landing in Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza and giving watchers a chance to see and possibly shake hands with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton made their way to their first stop in the city Sunday morning.
READ MORE: Full coverage of the royal visit
The royal couple travelled into the Downtown Eastside to Sheway, a pregnancy outreach program that provides health and social services to mothers and expectant mothers who are dealing with drug and alcohol issues. The focus of the program is to help the women have healthy pregnancies and positive parenting experiences.
Watch below: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Sheway House in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. The program helps pregnant mothers who suffer from addiction issues.
READ MORE: Royal Visit 2016 to open doors to social causes
Sheway, which is the Coast Salish word for growth, incorporates Aboriginal cultural practices in their health care services, as up to 65 per cent of the women at Sheway are First Nations.
The visit by Prince William and Kate included a First Nations ceremonial welcome and prayer, learning about vest-making and baby-welcoming ceremonies, participating in story time, meeting with medical staff and residents of Sheway, learning about nutrition and how to make traditional bannock and tea with residents who have taken part in the program.
They also spoke with several mothers, who got to tell them their stories and discuss the need to fight the stigma of mothers battling addiction.
Click through the gallery below to see royal admirers lined up at Sheway:
The visit by the royals to Sheway was aimed at highlighting the success of the program. Between 2015 and 2016, Sheway provided direct medical and social services, as well as social support and practical assistance, to more than 270 women and 300 children.
The Sheway project is funded by Vancouver Coastal Health, The Ministry for Children and Family Development, the Vancouver Native Health Society, the Ministry for Housing and Social Development and the YWCA.
Watch below: Why Vancouver’s Sheway was picked as an official stop on the Royal Tour
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