‘There are lots of barriers,’ but there are services for homeless and pregnant women, nurse says

There are resources available for homeless and pregnant women in Toronto, according to one public health nurse, who says it’s often an “interesting dance” for health care providers to convince patients to overcome the stigma and access the care they need.

• Homeless and pregnant in Toronto: 1 woman tells her story

Nurse Alice Gorman said she appreciated the “articulate summary” of the realities of this marginalized group by Amanda Watson, who CBC News profiled on Monday. 

Gorman explained that it’s often the stigma that deters these women from seeking help.

“I love her comment about ‘Do not judge a book by its cover.’ One never knows what path someone has walked,” Gorman told CBC’s Metro Morning on Tuesday.

Gorman manages a team of nurses with Toronto Public Health’s Homeless at Risk Prenatal (HARP) program. It’s a volunteer-based program with six nurses and two registered dietitians who act as a bridge for pregnant and homeless women in Toronto to connect with health services.

‘Interesting dance’ for nurses

It’s mainly about convincing the women to seek the help that’s out there — or getting them to “walk with us,” as Gorman put it. 

“It’s an interesting dance that the nurses play in order to actually meet the clients and get them to allow us to work with them,” said Gorman. “But they may say ‘I’m not ready.'”

No matter how many resources and services may be available, it’s ultimately up to the women to open up and say yes to the help, said Gorman. But this is difficult for many women to do because of the circumstances they may come from, and it takes time for service providers like Gorman to gain their trust, she said. 

“We’re not there to say ‘This is what you need to do,'” she said. “We’re there to say ‘Hey, what can we do to help you?'”

Resources in the city vary

Different resources are available depending on which part of the city women are in, said Gorman. 

“Downtown, we have hospitals like St. Michael’s, with doctors there who are used to [treating] the homeless,” said Gorman. “But in other areas of the city there are probably women we don’t even meet because no one is seeing them.”

When nurses find homeless and pregnant women in the northern parts of Toronto, Gorman said, they often bring them back downtown to receive services. 

“There are lots of barriers and they are ‘service shy’ sometimes when we meet them,” she said. 

Partnerships are key

Gorman said partnerships are “key” to their program. 

There is a deep network of  organizations, hospitals and shelters around Toronto that provide a range of services including prenatal care, counselling on birth control and abortion, parenting and nutrition programs.

‘Sometimes success can be the woman delivers a healthy baby in the hospital. Sometimes a success is when they call us.’
– Nurse Alice Gorman

“Nurses come to me at times, and some of it’s hard to hear, but they do have successes,” said Gorman.

“Sometimes success can be the woman delivers a healthy baby in the hospital. Sometimes a success is when they call us.”