Climb Out of the Darkness

The Parent Child Center hosted the event Climb out of the Darkness on the first day of summer.  The Parent Child Center joined a local family with 4 kids in tow (including one in a front baby carrier!) and hiked up Hard’ack and through the trails on Aldis Hill to commemorate the event.  Climb out of Darkness is an international community awareness and fundraiser event for survivors, providers, and members of the community to shine a light on perinatal mental health disorders.  This event occurs across the globe on the longest and brightest day of the year to represent hope and support.  Perinatal mental health refers to the spectrum of mental health disorders that can impact women during pregnancy and the postpartum period.  1 in 7 mothers are impacted by perinatal disorders such as depression, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and psychosis.  NCSS staff, many of which who have received certification from Postpartum Support International, provided a guided walk up the hill which included statistics and other facts regarding the needs for mothers and their family members.  This was an opportunity to highlight a really important issue that has impacted our community in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, as well as NCSS staff personally.  The group culminated the climb at the St. Albans Lookout, with a perfectly sunny view of St. Albans City and Lake Champlain in the distance.  Climb out of the Darkness has come at a time that the NCSS Parent Child Center is unveiling a comprehensive perinatal support program.  We prioritized this important issue in the past with starting with a therapist that provides counseling in the home for mothers.  Now we are expanding the service to include postpartum doula home visits and pregnancy wellness health coaching.