Contact: Stephanie Adler sadler@postpartumva.org (540) 546-0519
FOR IMMEDIATE REALEASE
Arlington, VA, May 18, 2023 – Postpartum Support Virginia
Postpartum Support Virginia, a non-profit organization working to ensure every family in Virginia receives screening and resources to treat maternal mental health issues, is launching a new support group for Queer/LGBTIQ+ parents and parents-to-be virtually for all of Virginia.
The Queer Parents Support Group will be offered virtually beginning June 21st, 2023. This group will meet every other Wednesday from 12:00 pm –1:00 pm every other week. This virtual Queer Parents support group is for LGBTIQA+ parents and parents-to-be who want support during their fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum/post-adoption life journey.
Mandolin Restivo, Executive Director states: “I am thrilled to be expanding our services to include a group created and facilitated by parents who identify as LGBTIQ+; this is an important step in fulfilling our mission to serve every childbearing family in the Commonwealth. Mental health issues are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, with 1 in 5 mothers and birthing people in the general population experiencing PMAD. In the LGBTIQ+ community, rates are higher. Safe, supportive, and welcoming services are needed to fill this service gap.
The Queer Parents support group will be co-facilitated by Julianne Price, a PSVa volunteer, and Sarah Nealy, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, MA. Sarah is a PSVa Board member, full-time therapist, fiction writer/novelist, and non-binary queer mother living in Arlington. Sarah serves mostly queer clients, couples, and birthing persons in the Northern Virginia area to address best the intersectionality of perinatal mental health struggles within the queer community. Sarah explains the importance of the group by stating: “As a queer parent, it can easily feel isolating when you’re faced with issues cis/hetero families don’t have to deal with. There is a lot of strength, hope, and empowerment as a parent to speak with others in similar situations and with similar identities. I’m excited to bring this group to PSVA to help give a voice to other queer parents like myself.”
Julianne Price had served the LGBTIQA+ community since college when she was heavily involved in organizations advocating for queer students and survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence. After graduation, she worked at the local domestic violence shelter, the health department, and her locality’s Commonwealth Attorney’s Office Victim and Witness Assistance Program before returning to UVA for a master’s in nursing. She spent the next five years as a bedside nurse on the Antepartum, Labor, Delivery, and Postpartum units at the UVA Medical Center, where she had the privilege to care for a diverse group of patients and families, train new nurses, and lead projects focusing on issues such as long-term antepartum hospitalization, fetal and neonatal loss, and secondary traumatic stress among nursing staff. After leaving the bedside, she extended her passion for teaching by working for a year as an obstetrics clinical instructor for nursing students on the same units before stepping away to focus on managing family life and volunteering in her community. Julianne and her wife have two children, and she is excited to work with Postpartum Virginia to expand the support available for queer parents as they navigate the joys and challenges of starting a rainbow family.
The Queer Parents support group is drop-in and free. You can learn more about our support groups at https://postpartumva.org/support-groups/ and register for our Queer Parents Support Group athttps://bit.ly/QueerparentsSG.
