Langley residents did it again. A call from Langley resident Jaime Pederson to help lift the spirits of pregnant women taking part in the B.C. Women’s Fir Square program has been answered.
Parenting magazines, DVDs, books, maternity clothes, lots of women’s clothing, jackets, shoes, baby clothing, nursing pillow, baby toys, blankets and cards of encouragement came in to the Langley Times office, even through sleet and snow.
Pederson credits the Vancouver hospital’s program for “helping me turn my life around.”
When she arrived at Fir Square’s centre, she was newly out of jail, pregnant and addicted to drugs.
“When I went in there I had nothing,” Pederson said. Now she is clean and raising her happy, healthy two-year-old daughter and loving the support and community feel of Langley. But Pederson has little herself so she reached out to the Langley community for help.
Because she credits Fir Square for changing her life for the better and offering such “huge” support, she has made it her goal to give back to them. She spent all year collecting bottles to buy little goodies and items for the women at the centre. She has goody bags ready to go to lift the spirits of the new set of women who have come through the doors there. She offers words of encouragement for all the women too.
Fir Square offers support and care for pregnant women struggling with substance abuse. It offers withdrawal management during pregnancy and post-partum, caring and non-judgmental counselling, assistance with housing and medical care as well as parenting groups. There are 12 beds there.
“Often, women come from the North and drop everything to be here so they come with nothing,” she said.
Pederson was overwhelmed that people would want to help someone they didn’t know.
“I really can’t thank everyone enough. This means so much,” she said.
She also couldn’t believe she “was worthy enough of a story” to make it into the newspaper.
“I framed the story and put it on my wall and I have a framed article to put on the wall at Fir Square too,” she said.