Outreach doulas: removing barriers and providing perinatal care
A new Outreach Doula program is providing perinatal care and supports to Indigenous clients and those at risk of homelessness in the Downtown Eastside community in Vancouver.
The service, which was launched in 2024, includes doulas, nurses and physicians, and also provides companionship, cultural supports and help with accessing primary care and other community resources.
Outreach doulas work as part of a health-care team to provide non-medical, informational and health system navigational support and companionship to Indigenous clients from pregnancy to after they give birth, who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the Downtown Eastside community in Vancouver.
Outreach doulas provide connection to Indigenous cultural practices and support the removal of barriers for access to health care and other community services. They work in collaboration with VCH medical staff, maternity staff, community service providers and other partners to remove barriers, improve health and wellness outcomes and health-care experiences.
“Our clients have so many contact people and often their interactions are very task oriented. When I come to sit down with a client it's a chance to collectively catch our breath, focus on being and holding space.” - Lolo Chaumont, Outreach Doula, VCH
Indigenous Health Outreach
Leading with cultural safety, Indigenous Health Outreach supports unhoused or precariously housed people in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) community in Vancouver with complex mental health and/or substance use challenges and connects them to cultural supports and health services, including existing mental health and substance use programs and primary care services.