We All Have a Role in Supporting Families

The Gorge Perinatal Mental Health Initiative (PMHI) was formed to address prenatal and postpartum mental health concerns in the Columbia Gorge region. We believe parents in our community should be able to have their mental health concerns addressed and that all parents feel supported.

PMHI was born out of a need to raise awareness, build capacity, and strengthen resources for families suffering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Check it out!

Last year, the Gorge Perinatal Mental Health Initiative was invited to share our story about our program with the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. They published our case study.

Check it out on our research page

woman and newborn baby bonding

SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups are a great way to meet other parents, address challenges you may face, gain perspective and strength, and get connected to other resources. Our groups provide a non-judgmental space to explore and validate your feelings. Our support group leaders are trained in group peer support, are parents themselves, and have experienced a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. 

We currently have 4 support groups running each week and one virtual option meeting twice a month. Join us for connection and support!

Task Force

PMHI is a multi-year grant funded project.  Perinatal is defined as the time surrounding birth, which includes both pregnancy and postpartum. PMHI aims to increase community awareness about perinatal mental health issues, increase collaboration among community-based organizations and providers to serve perinatal families better, increase resources for new parents, and identify current screening, referral, and treatment practices among clinics.

The following organizations, agencies, or individuals participate in our task force:

  • Hood River County Health Department

  • Klickitat Valley Health 

  • Mid-Columbia Children’s Council 

  • Mid-Columbia Medical Center Women’s Clinic

  • NorthShore

  • One Community Health

  • Parents or people with lived experience

  • Providence Women’s Clinic

  • Roots Northwest

  • Skyline Medical 

  • The Next Door, Inc. 

  • Washington Gorge Action Programs


Mother and Father holding newborn baby and bonding

Join us for our next quarterly perinatal mental health task force meeting. This is for providers, clinics, agencies, and anyone who cares for pregnant and post-birth families in anyway. We also welcome community members who have a passion for pregnancy and postpartum families and lived experience.

The next meeting will be early fall 2024. Email us for a link.

Community Education

smiling father holding child and baby on his shoulders

More information to come

If your program, or a program you know about may be interested in a specific perinatal mental health training please reach out for more information.

Work with us! 

If you are local to the Gorge and interested in the work we are doing, we would love for you join our initiative!

CEKC 

We are fiscally sponsored by Community Enrichment for Klickitat and Skamania County