SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - With a reusable bag slung over her shoulder and her baby in one arm, new mother Katie Murray uses the other to flip through clothing racks at the Island Pregnancy Centre. Everything she chooses is free.
Eight-month-old Teddy is Murray’s first child. Not entirely sure where to begin, she turned to the centre for help. Inside the Summerside Baby Boutique, she found a list of necessities and welcoming staff members offering guidance on what to take home.
“It means that he always has what he needs,” Murray said.
The non-profit organization, which operates a second site in Charlottetown, provides emotional and practical support to those facing pregnancy-related challenges and early family life.
Demand for its services has surged in recent years, with its two locations logging about 2,500 visits in 2025, a figure executive director Tammy MacKinnon expects will rise.
“The cost of living is so high…We just have a lot of people who are pregnant and who are in need,” she said. “The more people that move to P.E.I. from other countries also are coming here with very little to start with.”
The baby boutiques rely entirely on community donations. Volunteers sort, wash and display what comes in. To stretch the inventory, shopping visits have been reduced from once a week to once a month.
Diapers in sizes three and up are some of the hardest items to keep stocked. On Monday morning, the Charlottetown location was completely out, while the Summerside donation room had no size four diapers and fewer than 10 tins of baby formula.
Other programs for families facing financial hardship are under pressure as well, MacKinnon said. There are waiting lists for infant car seats and hospital-grade breast pumps, while more mothers are seeking free professional counselling.
“It has been really difficult to keep up,” she added, calling the centre the only service of its kind on the Island.
For mother of three Rebecca Smith, access to the boutique offers comfort, and one less thing to worry about, during difficult periods.
When her children, aged 10 months, two and 13, outgrow their clothes, she brings them back, swapping for replacements.
“Being a low-income family, this really helps us to be able to feel more in control, and to be able to provide for our family,” she said.
In a statement, the Department of Social Development and Seniors told CTV News social assistance rates have risen steadily since 2018 to help Islanders meet the cost of living. It also pointed to the P.E.I. Child Benefit for low and moderate-income households, as well as the Island Essentials Benefit, adding the province continues to review its supports.
Donations can be dropped off at the Island Pregnancy Centre’s Summerside location on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and in Charlottetown from Tuesday to Thursday during the same hours. People can also donate online.
