Family Care Collective MTL

The Family Care Collective (FCC) is a community organization for families in Montreal with a focus on advocacy, community/social support and access to information. Our aim is to offer a space for individuals, families, and other groups in Montreal to receive support navigating resources related to reproductive health, mental health, medical care, childcare, work, housing, and other useful social programs and activities. We recognize that for many people, both local and recently arrived, Quebec’s infrastructure poses challenges that affect experiences of physical, mental, and emotional health. As an organization our focus is on creating networks and collaborations to ensure equitable access to social and other services, considering the many intersections of the communities we serve. 

Many of our activities and projects center largely on the perinatal period, supporting new families and mothers. As increasing research dictates, community and belonging are important markers of wellbeing, and as we grow into a more global society, often far from our family and culture, creating spaces for sharing and mentorship becomes essential. With this in mind, FCC hosts several peer support groups around the city, as well as continually collaborating with other organizations in order to strengthen networks of support. Maternal mental health is complex, multi-faceted, and affects the whole family, extending into deeply impacting our communities as well. We bring a person centered, interdisciplinary and integrative approach to support maternal health and the wellbeing of the family, drawing on a strong network of healthcare practitioners, activists and researchers sharing knowledge and skills. Our values of equity, dignity and integrity are at the heart of our work as we advocate for culturally sensitive, respectful care.

Challenge

We recognize that for many people accessing healthcare (physical and mental) is immensely challenging. The healthcare system in Quebec struggles to meet the needs of many individuals and families, due to overtrain and overuse, lack of education and resources.

Goal

Our goal is to offer a parallel alternative to care that is freely accessible, and create a network of practitioners, researchers, mental health professionals and advocates, community members and healthcare workers to support and promote HEALTH with access to information, resources and community. Creating a sustainable container for both community members and practitioners.

Approach

Our belief is that creating a network of individuals who bring different skills and experiences to the table, is the key to implementing real and systemic change at a policy level. Executing projects that support this vision while bringing a person-centred, interdisciplinary and integrative approach to health creates momentum upon which we can establish further connections of support within the community.