Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre

10/10/2025

🧡 Health equity is at the heart of everything we do — especially for young families

In Ontario this October, during , we stand together for a future where every family — regardless of income, language, culture, or place — has fair access to the supports they need to thrive.

For young families, equity means:
• access to high-quality prenatal, postnatal, and pediatric care without barriers
• mental health support and community resources that are culturally safe and linguistically appropriate
• affordable housing, nutritious food, early childhood programs, and safe neighborhoods
• systems designed to meet people where they are — not expecting people to fit into one-size-fits-all models

When health equity guides decision-making, we build stronger, more resilient communities — beginning with our youngest.

This October, we invite you to for health equity, with young families, and for a healthier Ontario for all.

10/10/2025

🧡 Standing Together for Gender Affirmation, Starting at Home

October is Community Health & Well-Being Month in Ontario, and at the heart of our work is ensuring every child and young person can live and grow in a body that feels like theirs — with dignity, support, and respect.

For young families, gender-affirming care isn’t just a medical service — it’s an act of love, safety, and affirmation. It means:
• being listened to, believed, and supported in conversations about gender identity
• access to health care that is knowledgeable, respectful, and nonjudgmental — whether social, legal, or medical affirmation options
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• a care journey designed for your child and family — not forcing standard pathways
• privacy, consent, and culturally safe care, especially within communities that have historically been harmed
• mental health support, peer networks, and caregiver resources to walk this path together

When we put health equity and gender affirmation at the center of our work, we strengthen the trust between health systems and communities — including young families navigating complex health decisions.

Let’s stand together with gender-diverse children and youth and for families across Ontario who believe in affirming care as essential and foundational.

10/09/2025

In our Children & Family Services Department, the team is with nursing students to make a difference for families we serve.

A couple of years ago we renewed our partnership with the nursing program between Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology and the University of Ottawa.

For 11 weeks in the Fall, we are fortunate to have teams of nursing students complete projects with different departments. In 2024, we had three teams support Health Promotion, Early Years, and the Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT).

This year we have a team of 4 nursing students supporting our Early Years and Childcare Services around Perinatal Mental Health. The goal of their project is to assess, develop, and implement an awareness campaign which will involve workshops, presentations, posters, and social media.

While we benefit greatly from the nursing student teams, they in turn, have an opportunity to see how community-based, health equity-focused health care works on the ground. They see firsthand how addressing social determinants of health can improve health and well-being of our clients and that "health care is about more than just treating illness".

10/07/2025

Friendly reminder that we will be closed on Monday October 13th for Thanksgiving.

10/06/2025

On Saturday October 4th, the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa launched their first ever "Race to End Homelessness". Participants had an opportunity to complete a 10 km, 5 km, or 1km walk/run to help educate, engage, and unite the community around one critical goal: a future where everyone has a home.

$30,877.60 was raised.

We want to thank the 12 staff members that participated in the race on behalf of PQ. Thank you so much for representing us and highlighting how we are with our partners and the community to help end homelessness in the City of Ottawa!

10/01/2025

October is Community Health & Wellbeing Month. It is the season to celebrate local successes, and the collective work happening here at PQ towards improved health and wellbeing in every community across Ontario.

The theme this year is "Standing Together" which highlights the collective efforts of Alliance for Healthier Communities / Alliance pour des communautés en santé member organizations and their partners in addressing local priorities that reinforce the importance of community-based, healthy-equity focused primary health care.

The theme emphasizes work being done in two ways:
👉 Standing Together FOR (specific goals, values, and outcomes)
👉 Standing Together WITH (people, groups being served, partners, and collaborators)

Throughout the month, we will be sharing how Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre is Standing Together with our community members, staff, volunteers, students, and partners to create a safe, just, and healthy community for all.

09/30/2025

✨ Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), our Internationally Trained Professionals (ITP) program and the Community Connections for Newcomer Employment Services (CCNE) program participants, all of whom are newcomers to Canada, visited the Canadian Museum of History today to take part in National Day for Truth and Reconciliation activities.

A special thank you to the Museum for offering free entry to recognize the day, allowing our participants to learn, reflect, and deepen their understanding of Canada’s history, the legacy of residential schools, and the importance of walking together on a healthy reconciliation pathway.

We are proud to create spaces where newcomers can engage in meaningful learning experiences that foster awareness, dialogue, and respect.

09/30/2025

September 30th marks the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. It is a day to honour survivors of residential schools, remember the children who never returned home, and reflect on the ongoing impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples of Canada.

At Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health & Resource Centre,
➡️ We are committed to deepening our understanding of colonial systems and how they intersect with the services we provide.
➡️ We will continue to work on our Reconciliation Action Plan at the team level.
➡️We are committed to anti-racism, cultural humility, and building relationships rooted in respect and accountability.

As part of our commitment, we gathered together for lunch and discussed the following:
👉 What does reconciliation mean in the context of your role here?
👉 How can we, in our department or team, move from acknowledgment to action?
👉 What is one step you can take personally to continue learning or recognizing Indigenous voices in your work?

We know that Truth & Reconciliation is not a one-day event, but an ongoing journey-- one that requires courage, learning, and action. The truth must be acknowledged before reconciliation is possible.

09/30/2025

09/30/2025

09/29/2025

Congratulations to our Bayshore Health Promotion Team and the Bayshore Park Community Garden & Oven (BPCGO) on another successful Pizza Palooza & Harvest Fair.

Held on Saturday September 27th from 1- 4 pm at Bayshore park, the event focused on a pizza competition. 7 youth and 10 adults participated, creating a variety of delicious pizzas with many unique and interesting flavour combinations. The judges, Sepideh, Denise, and Sarah tried a slice of each pizza and rated them based on the crust, topping, originality, and appearance.

Thank you to all the competitors and congratulations to the winners!

Shout out to the amazing team from PQ that made this happen: Ziba, Adil, and Hazar. Thank you as well to our volunteers Damien and Soonim and to the amazing BPCGO team Mete and Tom!

We had 129 residents participate. They enjoyed pizza, listened to some wonderful music from local artists, and received resources from staff at PQ. They also had an opportunity to speak with Councillor Theresa Kavanagh Bay Ward and MPP Chandra Pasma.

09/24/2025

Please consider donating to the Ottawa Food Bank. $16 will provide a hearty meal to those in need.

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