Pregnant woman with HIV now have a new place to call home.
Sanctum 1.5 officially open its door Monday in Saskatoon. The facility is the first of its kind in Canada to provide integrated and holistic pre-natal services to pregnant women who have HIV. It will also keep the families together after birth.
Katelyn Roberts, executive director of Sanctum Care Group, said the goal of Sanctum 1.5 is twofold - to prevent prenatal transmission of HIV and to prevent children from entering the foster care system.
“This home, albeit small, is the start of something big,” she said at Monday’s grand opening.
The facility will help address the mental, physical, emotional, and environmental challenges many of these women face, she said.
The facility, which can house up to 10 women, comes fully equipped with a communal living space, kitchen and basement. It also has 10 separate bedrooms with cribs, toys and toiletries.
“This will be a safe and welcoming space for mothers and babies,” said Corey Miller, vice president provincial programs with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
“[It] supports the necessary health pieces that are needed to be put in place for mothers and babies. But it’s more than that, this is a community and this is a home.”
The provincial and federal governments spent $765,000 on the project.
