A list of community organizations and government agencies supporting children and families in Prince Edward County.

Physical and Mental Health / Learning Supports

• Lighthouse Tutoring operates out of their office on Paul Street in Picton! Find them on Facebook here.
• Children’s Mental Health Services offer a range of in-home, residential, and community-based services for children and their families in Prince Edward County.
• Addictions and Mental Health Services Hastings-Prince Edward is a community-based agency providing a range of client-centred services and supports throughout Hastings and Prince Edward Counties to individuals 16 and older. Services can be provided in the individual’s home environment, office setting or in the community.
• Sign up for Health Care Connect to get on the list for a family doctor.
• The Prince Edward Family Health Team’s Maternal Infant Child Program offers prenatal programs, child health programs, youth health programs, and breastfeeding support services. 
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health offers free in-person and online prenatal education programs.
• Quinte Midwives is based in Belleville, and provides midwife services in the area. Their Resources page lists doulas, pre- and post-natal massage therapists, and other local practitioners serving pregnant and post-partum mothers.
• The Children’s Foundation runs the Helping Hands Prenatal Program for mothers in need.
• Along the Way Doula Services offers various kinds of in-person and virtual support during pregnancy, labour/birth, and the postpartum period, as well as birth pool rentals.
• The Three Oaks Foundation offers a variety of services (including a shelter located in Belleville) to victims of domestic violence and their children. 
• Alternatives for Women provides a variety of services for women and survivors of gender-based violence in the County, including crisis intervention, counselling, and second-stage housing.
• QExplore in Belleville offers a variety of services including Autism Assessment and Therapy Services. In Summer 2023 they’re running a range of social skills groups for children and youth aged 5 to grade 12. Services eligible for OAP funding.

Social services and support

• Reaching for Rainbows is an after school mentoring and empowerment program for girls aged 6-9 years old. Participants attend 2 days per week. The program takes place at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Picton. 
• The ROC Youth Services operates a variety of free youth programs in the Picton area including after-school programs for youth in Grades 7-8 and 9-12 at their Centre on Main Street. 
• The Prince Edward County Public Library offers a wonderful array of child and youth friendly activities and events, from storytimes, coding classes, and maker clubs to free play spaces, musical instrument lending, and special programs on PA Days and school holidays. The Picton Branch also hosts the County’s weekly LGBTQ+ Youth Drop-In – Discover YOUth.
• Youth2Youth Hastings Prince Edward is a youth led group with a mission to spark innovative thinking and work in partnership with community leaders to find solutions to local problems identified by youth. Follow them on Facebook to learn about events and opportunities for involvement.
• This Youth Services guide prepared by Youth2Youth HPE is very comprehensive and might be extra helpful for finding programs for youth aged 16+.
• Prince Edward – Lennox & Addington Social Services (PELASS) helps parents find licensed child care and financial support to access child care, and apply for subsidized housing (among other services).
• Highland Shores is the local Children’s Aid Society for Prince Edward County.
• Alliance Youth Services provides specialized foster care and intensive supported living programs, and psychological and support services to children, youth, adults, and families across Ontario. It has an office in Belleville.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties offers one-on-one, group, and online mentoring programs for local youth aged 6-16 years.
  

Financial and in-kind support

• The Canadian Tire Jumpstart Foundation provides grants covering registration and equipment costs associated with a sport or physical activity.
• The Children’s Foundation offers a variety of programs including Playing for Keeps which offers financial assistance for children’s extracurricular activities, and Camps of Hope which provides financial help with camp registration fees. 
• The County Arts Lab offers child/youth bursaries for their arts classes (visual arts, music, movement, theatre, and more)
• The annual Christmas Angel Tree Program, run in partnership with the Children’s Foundation (the charitable arm of the Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society), delivers donations of food, clothing, and toys to local families in need. The campaign launches in November, and gifts are delivered in mid December.
• Keep Kids Warm’s Adopt-A-Child Program assists low-income working families and those on assistance with new winter outerwear.
• The Matt Stever Fund, administered by the Rotary Club of Picton, was created to assist families in Prince Edward County who suffer hardship due to family crisis specifically, but not limited to, hardship caused by the severe illness, accident or death of a child.
• United Way Hastings Prince Edward, Wellington’s Storehouse Foodbank, and Picton’s Salvation Army United Church offer Back-to-School fundraisers providing backpacks and school supplies.

Food security

• The Hub Child & Family Centre runs two programs offering boxes of low-priced goods to local families – the weekly Good Baby Box (diapers, formula, baby food) and the monthly Good Food Box (fruits and vegetables). Pick-up is at the Rick Hotston Centre in Picton. Please contact the Hub for more information. 
• The PEC Fresh Good Food Market offers fresh produce at a reduced rate at 3 locations throughout the County – Consecon, Sophiasburgh, and Picton.
• Picton Community Gardens (in Delhi Park, Picton) is the County’s first community garden.
• The Picton United Church County Food Bank operates every Friday morning from 9-11:30 out of the Picton United Church (12 Chapel St, Picton).
• The Salvation Army Community Church in Picton runs an emergency food bank program. 
• The Storehouse Foodbank in Wellington offers foodbank and other community support services. It is located at the Wellington Pentecostal Church (304 Niles St, Wellington). 
• The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation offers student nutrition and emergency assistance programs (including the Good Backpack Program and Food for Home) through local schools.
• The Learning Foundation has an overview of local food resources on their website.

Safety 

• The Prince Edward Fitness & Aquatic Centre (PEFAC) offers a Home Alone Course for kids aged 10 and up. 
• Be Prepared (located at 213A Front St in Belleville) offers various safety courses for kids, including a Home Alone Course, Babysitting Course, and First Aid for Kids Course, as well as First Aid and CPR courses for adults.
  

Entrepreneurship and job training

• The Prince Edward Fitness & Aquatic Centre (PEFAC) offers a Babysitting Course for kids aged 11 and up.
• The Recreation Outreach Centre (ROC) connects local youth to opportunities in the areas of leadership development, volunteerism, and entrepreneurship.
  

Miscellaneous

• The Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) provides legal help to residents of Prince Edward County. It has a main office in Belleville, and a satellite office (by appointment only) in Picton. 
  

Kindly let me know of any errors or omissions at andrea@pecparents.ca. Thank you!