Help & Support
Are you feeling overwhelmed and looking for some help? We work with our clients as advocates and support them within the context of the ministry mandates. Our goal is to support families in becoming healthy, autonomous and thrive within our community.
Education
Are you looking to go back to school & get your diploma? Educational opportunities are within our community but can be confusing to navigate. Our outreach worker can help with finding programs of interest, helping with enrolment, finding childcare and more.
Housing
Are you struggling to find housing for you and your kids? Safe, stable and affordable housing is the key to supporting young families as they move forward. We can help find, secure and maintain housing for young mothers and their children in our community.
About Young Parent Outreach & Support
Our Young Parent Outreach program is a dynamic resource providing services and support to young pregnant women, young moms and dads, and their children in the Greater Victoria area. These support services provided by The Cridge Centre for the Family are designed to give young pregnant women and young moms and dad’s the help and support network they need to have healthy babies and to be effective, successful parents. The purpose of this site and support service is to provide resources for young parents and families in the Greater Victoria area. The site contains informative articles, blog postings and video clips on topics ranging from teen pregnancy, and parenting newborns to general advice on how to baby-proof your house. We’ve also included a list of helpful online links to other important young parenting and pregnancy support resources.
OUR MISSION
The Cridge Young Parent Outreach Program offers support, mentoring and advocacy to young parents as they endeavour to have healthy babies, develop their parenting skills, and pursue their educational and employment goals.
Newsletter
Receive valuable information on resources for young parents as well as updates and reminders on upcoming events and opportunities.
KM's Driven
Coffee's Shared
YEARLY ENGAGEMENT
Calls made
Blog
Working Together
Nicky connected with The Cridge Young Parent Outreach Program a few years ago. She was very young, pregnant, had no positive support from family or from her baby’s father. She had no idea of how to care for a baby or how to be a parent. The only thing of which she was...
FA 2020 Impact Story
Kate knew she was in trouble when Mike threatened her with his fist. The children had been crying and he was frustrated and on edge. His violent behavior had been escalating since Kate’s last pregnancy. The pandemic had been hard on their marriage — the loss of...
Success: Lisa’s Story
Lisa is a young mom with a brand new baby. The father of Lisa’s baby had violently abused Lisa and as often happens, the abuse had gotten even worse during Lisa’s pregnancy. Lisa knew she could not live with him when their baby was born. Lisa had grown up in foster...
Success: Eileen’s Story
Eileen found The Cridge Young Parent Outreach Program 3 years ago. She was 19, had one baby, was pregnant with a second, and knew she needed to leave her abusive partner. She had not finished high school, had no job skills and was scared, depressed, and hopeless. Her...
Success: Testimonial
The Cridge YPOP has made a world of difference to my little family. I wasn’t driving and I was on income assistance with my daughter who was an infant. The Cridge YPOP helped me get to the food bank food because income assistance doesn’t give much and I was breastfeeding and hungry!
Success: Alison’s Story
Alison was 18 when she connected with Nicole and The Cridge Young Parent Outreach Program. She was pregnant and felt isolated and hopeless. Nicole helped her connect to a midwife and other community supports. Alison had stable housing and was managing all right by the time baby Krista was born.
Success: Laura’s Story
The Cridge Young Parent Outreach Worker helped Laura work with her social worker to address child protection concerns and finish high school.
Timing of First Sex Has Far-Reaching Relationship Effects
Research looking at how the timing of sexual initiation in adolescence impacts adult romantic ties finds that having sex later may lead to better relationships. In a new study, Dr. Paige Harden, a psychological scientist, investigated how the timing of sexual...
Success: It’s Just Knowing You Are Not Alone
There are no “typical” days in the life of Nicole, Cridge Young Parent Outreach Worker. As she updates me about the young moms in her program, I hear about the support she gives one young mom to manage her own ADD and parent a baby; another mom trying to understand...