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Cassandra Houle is the executive director of Pregnancy and Family Support Services in the West End. (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

Shortly after abortion became legalized, in 1973, Pregnancy and Family Support Services Inc (PFSS) came into being. 

The organization was founded by Dr. Paul Adam, an obstetrician, and his wife, Louise, to provide a support system for those choosing to carry their pregnancies to term and work through that process.

Although the Adamses were devout Catholics, "they intentionally set about ensuring the agency would be non-denominational, wanting to make it accessible for all in need," explains Cassandra Houle, executive director of PFSS.

While studying theology at St. John’s College, Houle did her practicum at the West End’s St, Matthews Anglican Church, which sparked her passion for community work in the inner city – leading her to her current role at PFSS.

Today, PFSS’ administrative office is located at 555 Spence St., predominantly offering free counselling of all sorts.

It also an emergency food service for clients left lacking in any given month, where people can come up to once a month to get emergency food, formula, and diapers.

In this same building is PFSS’ ever-popular Spence Street Thrift Shop, an integral part of the agency’s registered charity. According to Houle, the shop "was never intended to generate revenue.  Rather, it’s seen as an opportunity for clients to engage with the community and give back.

"Once we help clients upgrade their education or change the quality of their lives, they don’t always have the means necessary to dress professionally to reflect that."

The shop has only one paid position, and logged 6,642 volunteer hours last year alone. It shop offers very low-priced, high-quality clothing and other items (including children’s clothes for 50 cents, and jeans for $2).

Any clothing not deemed good enough for the store is given to a couple  of Mennonite colonies once a month, where it is cut up and reused or shipped to northern reserves in need.

PFSS also has a family community centre with an adult resource centre (with internet access, resume writing, and a diverse array of classes). It also provides prenatal, Healthy Baby and Me, and parenting classes (like Triple P and Nobody’s Perfect), as well as courses in literacy (such as GED and Intro to Canada), health and nutrition, and aboriginal arts and culture.

"We added the adult resource centre, because community-based organizations, like Welcome Place approached us, saying that newcomers are experiencing social isolation, can’t get into the workforce without higher English benchmarks, and can’t get into English classes without more child care," Houle said.

Currently, PFSS has 20 free, licensed child-care spaces at 100-475 Sargent Ave, and the only eligibility requirement is that users need to be actively upgrading their educations – whether that involves pursuing a master’s degree, taking English as an Additional Language, or anything in between. 

"We’re in the process right now of at least doubling the number of [child care] spaces we now offer the community, as there’s a notorious shortage of child care spaces," said Houle.

"Our mandate here is not low income.  It’s crisis.  But, we have a strength-based focus, not one of deficit.  That tends to be enough to empower people to improve their own lives, with us supporting them along the way.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a community correspondent for the West End.