A Saskatoon group home for parents at risk for having their newborns apprehended from them is celebrating its first anniversary hitting all of the targets it set in that time.
Sanctum 1.5 is an HIV and high-risk pre-and post-natal home which offers mothers a chance to avoid having their children apprehended.
Melissa April is one of the mothers living at the home.
“I was just really excited to be able to know that I would be able to bring my baby home. It’s been a complete life changer for me. I’ve done really well with this program. I’ve been clean. I’m working on getting my other girls back slowly,” she said.
April has two daughters who were apprehended and placed in foster care because of an addiction.
In its first year, 21 babies were born in the program with no health concerns and no vertical transmission of HIV.
Sanctum said one of its main goals is for mother and baby to have a healthy birth.
“It’s a really difficult thing to do when you’re struggling with addiction, when you’re living in homelessness and you maybe have undiagnosed mental illness and your life is crisis,” said executive director Katelyn Roberts.
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She added that keeping children with parents is ultimately best for a child’s well-being and hopes the example set here can further increase the number of beds available in the program.
Currently, Sanctum has 10 beds in its group home.
In Saskatchewan last year, 45 children were apprehended from their mothers within the first month of birth.
April is one of 23 mothers who have been through or are in the program and said the bond she has created with one-month-old Cassidy is something that can’t be replaced.
“Just watching her grow. I never got a chance to do that with my other girls and it has just been awesome. I never got that connection with my other girls and it’s really sad but I’m just loving every minute of it,” she said.
Sanctum offers resources for mothers for up to a year after they leave a home to ensure they can access help as needed.
The program is supported by the Ministry of Social Services, the Ministry of Health, Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Royal University Hospital Foundation, the Westside Community Clinic, the Saskatoon Society for the Protection of Children and the Sanctum Care Group.
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