A new program aims to ensure all North Shore women, regardless of their socio-economic status, have access to a range of services, information and treatments positively contributing to their health and well-being.
The North Shore Women's Centre, a drop-in resource centre located in Lower Lonsdale that's celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, recently added a new Health and Wellness Program to its arsenal in response to a need felt among clients. The new program serves both women experiencing financial need, as well as female members of the community at large.
The centre offers a variety of programs for local women, including a resource centre, support groups, computer training, a legal clinic, workshops and a girls' empowerment summer camp (this year's is being offered for free for teens aged 15 and 16, Aug. 12-22).
Centre staff have long had an interest in doing something focused on women's health, in part due to the popularity of their workshop series, Women's Health in Women's Hands, "which was amazing and provided public education on a variety of more holistic health topics," says Michelle Dodds, the centre's executive director.
"Also, we were noticing a trend with women coming into the centre experiencing health issues and not being able to find a satisfactory way to address them," she says. "And so we would see women over a period of time, potentially a smaller health problem becoming something larger because they couldn't find the kind of support and treatment that they were looking for in the conventional medical model."
Dodds references one woman who was experiencing back pain and had to eventually go on pain killers because a chiropractic treatment was unaffordable and another who had some digestive issues and chronic symptoms that, over a number of years, worsened to the point where she had to undergo invasive surgery and treatment.
"Most of the time she couldn't even afford some of the medications and treatments that were being prescribed so we definitely saw, for low-income women, a gap in the system," says Dodds.
The North Shore Women's Centre's new Health and Wellness Program was launched in November 2012. The program offers participants access to health-related information, advice and holistic treatments, as a complement to care offered through the public health care system. A strong focus of the program is prevention and staff hope to empower participants to come out of the program as advocates for their own health and wellbeing.
Registered nurse Sharon Stevens joined the women's centre staff in September 2012 and serves as care co-ordinator, overseeing the new program.
"My background is more community health and I'd always been interested in holistic health and preventative care so this program seemed like something I really wanted to get involved in," she says.
A major aspect of the program is individual holistic treatment sessions. Each participant is offered 10 sessions from a variety of alternative or holistic healers over the course of a year.
"All of the practitioners we have, it's amazing, they donate their time," says Stevens.
Stevens is the first point of contact for interested participants, who must qualify for this aspect of the program based on income. The sessions are offered for free to those with an annual household income of $38,000 or less.
During the consultation, Stevens discusses things like their health issues, what the major concerns they'd like to address are, what they want to do, what they've tried and ultimately create a plan moving forward.
"I think every one of them, stress is on there," she says. Next, Stevens schedules their treatments, usually one or two per month, which are conducted in a new space dedicated to the program in the centre.
So far 15 women have been involved in the program with three having recently completed their 10 sessions. The current average age of participants is 40 and most are mothers.
"Most of the women that are coming here they'll admit themselves that they've neglected their health for a long time," says Stevens. "They've put their kids first, and their job first, spouses, so they're fairly rundown."
Health and wellness practitioners who've so far volunteered their time include a doctor of Chinese medicine who does acupuncture, a holistic nutritionist, and those offering different kinds of energy healing, including bodymind therapy, acupressure and reiki.
"It didn't take long for word to get around," says Stevens, explaining they're already facing a waitlist of eight women. Therefore, they hope more local practitioners will decide to volunteer from all modalities. Specifically, they're looking for another acupuncturist, a naturopath and a massage therapist. Practitioners typically come to the centre once a month for three to five hours, but are welcome to come more or less dependent on their schedules.
"It's amazing to meet practitioners who are wanting to share their time and share their talents. And then for the women in the program, I found it inspiring to watch them take charge of their health and their learning," says Stevens.
"They seem more energized and I think a lot of times the best part is having someone listen to them. . . . I think being heard is huge and just getting some one-on-one time for them is amazing. . . The fact that someone is caring for them, they just come out glowing, it's really nice," she adds.
Other aspects of the North Shore Women's Centre's Health and Wellness Program that are open to the public regardless of income include access to online health resources via the centre's website and a well-stocked health lending library in the centre (donations of health books are always welcome). The program also offers by-donation yoga classes Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. at the centre, with mats provided, led by North Shore yoga instructor Jenny-Leigh Parmley. The centre also offers a weekly walking group Wednesdays, from 10: 30-11: 30 a.m. A new eight-week session will launch July 10, seeing participants aim to increase their distance from two to five kilometres by the end of the two months. Each week, walkers will head back to the centre to socialize over healthy snacks.
They're still offering the Women's Health in Women's Hands workshop series, typically on a monthly basis. Upcoming talks are listed on the centre's website and interested community members are encouraged to sign up for its e-newsletter to stay abreast of future events.
Stevens is also available to meet with any women interested in a consultation. "I'd say half the people I talk to are newly immigrated and it's more just telling them what's available," she says. "They just don't know what's here, what's free and what isn't, (and) what kinds of things you can access."
Future additions to the Health and Wellness Program include pap clinics, the first to be offered later this summer and another in October, offered by local midwife Vera Berard.
As the program grows and more health professionals come on board (and where the program participant allows), staff plan to allow for the sharing of files between practitioners to offer a better co-ordinated treatment plan, applying an integrative health clinic model within the centre.
The North Shore Women's Centre's Health and Wellness Program was made possible through the financial support of the 2012 North Shore Mayors' Golf Tournament, the City of North Vancouver Lower Lonsdale Legacy Fund and an Active Living Grant from Vancouver Coastal Health.
For more information on the program, either practitioners looking to volunteer or interested participants, visit northshorewomen.ca.
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The North Shore Women's Centre launched an inaugural online auction Thursday to raise much-needed funds for women and girls who need support on the North Shore. They will be auctioning off a wide variety of items, including travel experiences, event tickets and gift cards for fitness studios and restaurants. The fundraiser will wrap up at midnight, Thursday, July 11. To donate an item or to view those up for grabs, visit northshorewomen.ca, or contact Shoko Kitano, resource centre co-ordinator at 604-984-6009.
Also, SWAN (Successful Women Always Network) is hosting a charity golf tournament in support of the centre on July 11 at West Vancouver's Gleneagles Golf Course. Info: swannetwork.com.
