Lenny Sweeney - SHORE Centre

Lenny Sweeney -

SHORE (Sexual Health Options, Resources and Education) Centre

1. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your organization?

My name is Lenny Sweeney and I am the Executive Director of SHORE Centre, which stands for Sexual Health Options, Resources and Education. SHORE has been part of this community for more than 50 years. We were originally known as Planned Parenthood Waterloo Region and changed our name several years ago to better reflect the full scope of our work and values.

SHORE exists because people’s sexual and reproductive health needs were not being met by the health system. We began with counselling and education for people seeking abortion care and reproductive support, and we have continued to evolve alongside community-identified gaps.

Today, SHORE operates as a community-based sexual and reproductive health organization and clinic in Waterloo. We provide integrated reproductive and gender-affirming care, including medication abortion, contraception, cervical screening, and gender-affirming care across the lifespan. In the past year alone, we supported more than 2,000 unique clinic patients through nearly 5,000 appointments.

Alongside clinical care, SHORE provides counselling, peer support, education, and newcomer health programs. Our work sits at the intersection of health care, education, and advocacy, because access is shaped not only by services, but by how systems are designed.

2. How do your programs and services adapt to meet the diverse needs of individuals and families in our community?

SHORE was created in response to diverse needs that were not being met by the systems in place to provide sexual and reproductive care and education, and that framing continues to guide all of our work. We start by asking where the gaps are, who is being missed, and what barriers people are encountering, then we build programs and services in response.

This approach shows up across clinical care, education, and peer support. In our education work, both in schools and community settings, staff are continually assessing whose questions are not being answered and whose experiences are not being reflected. Educational resources are intentionally adapted to be culturally specific and grounded in people’s lived realities, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all content.

The same is true in our peer support programs. When we identified a clear need for Arabic-language postpartum support, SHORE introduced an Arabic-speaking group to respond directly to that gap. We continue to make these kinds of adaptations within our means as a small nonprofit organization.

Adaptation also happens at the system level through advocacy. SHORE takes an active role alongside our clinicians in addressing structural barriers that affect access to care. Dr. Thompson, one of our physicians, is engaged in advocacy specifically related to gender-affirming care, including challenges with diagnostic and billing codes. Our administrative team supports this work as much as possible, and SHORE is actively involved alongside clinicians in pushing for system-level change.

These advocacy efforts also extend to reproductive health services, which are similarly affected by billing structures and diagnostic frameworks that do not reflect the complexity or continuity of care many people need. While SHORE partners with the health system in specific ways, we do not receive stable funding from it, and much of this work relies on community support and limited project funding.

3. Can you share a story that highlights the impact of your services?

What stands out to me most is how quickly people recognize safety at SHORE. That does not happen by accident.

There was a situation where two people arrived together, and one appeared visibly distressed. Neither spoke English fluently, and staff communicated through translation tools. While one person attended their appointment, staff created space to check in with the other. Through translation, they disclosed feeling unsafe and shared an experience of sexual assault.

Staff responded immediately and compassionately. Safety planning, emotional support, and accompaniment were provided when other system options were limited or unavailable. That response reflected trust, relationship, and a trauma-informed approach grounded in lived experience. The fact that someone who had never been in the space before felt able to disclose something so vulnerable speaks to the environment SHORE has intentionally built.

Another example comes from our gender-affirming care clinic. A client reached out ahead of their first appointment after being declined a diagnosis elsewhere and was afraid this meant they could not access care. They were also concerned that because they did not present their gender in a specific way, they would not be taken seriously.

Our staff reassured them that they did not need a diagnosis to begin conversations about their goals, and that care at SHORE is based on listening, trust, and respect for what people tell us about who they are. That reassurance alone significantly reduced distress before the client even arrived.

We see similar impacts through our peer support programs, where staff regularly support people navigating complex systems. In one case, a pregnant client was unable to access a required vaccine in the community and was increasingly concerned about their health and safety. Drawing on strong community connections and lived experience, staff coordinated care so the client could receive the support they needed and feel safe moving forward.

Across all of these examples, the common thread is trust. Care at SHORE is not rushed or transactional, and that is why community members continue to refer others to us.

4. What are the key challenges in providing trauma-informed sexual and reproductive health care?

One of the ongoing challenges is that many of the services SHORE provides could technically be offered elsewhere in the health system, but often are not. Even when similar services exist, they frequently lack the trauma-informed, relationship-based approach that people need after experiencing dismissal, judgment, or harm in other medical settings.

Many people come to SHORE after having doors shut on them elsewhere. They are not only seeking clinical care. They are seeking counselling, education, and support that helps them navigate reproductive and gender-affirming care with dignity and safety. Understanding those cumulative experiences is essential to the care we provide, and it is something that is often missing in more fragmented or time-limited settings.

The most significant challenge SHORE faces is sustainability. SHORE does not receive stable core funding from the health system. At the same time, the system relies heavily on SHORE to provide access and care that others do not offer or are unwilling to provide. Universities refer students to SHORE for reproductive and gender-affirming care. Physicians and clinics across the region regularly send patients to us. The carceral system also relies on SHORE to provide reproductive care to people who are incarcerated, filling gaps where access would otherwise be extremely limited.

Despite this reliance, SHORE does not receive effective resources to support the role it plays in filling system gaps. We are expected to hold access open, absorb complexity, and respond to unmet needs without the stability required to sustain this work long-term.

5. How does your organization align with the values and goals of the OHT?

SHORE aligns strongly with the goal of ensuring people receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place. We function as both a direct access point for care and as a community-based partner supporting system learning and capacity-building.

SHORE operates as a learning clinic, supporting medical learners, clinicians, and clinics that are building or expanding reproductive and gender-affirming care. This contributes to broader system capacity and helps reduce reliance on a small number of specialized access points.

We also integrate health and social care by operating as both a clinic and a community organization. Our partnerships and participation in regional tables reflect the understanding that sexual and reproductive health is shaped by social, economic, and structural factors, and that collaboration is essential to improving access across the region.

6. What do you hope to see in the near future with your continued partnership with the OHT?

Moving forward, we want to share more information and deepen understanding about what is required to make this care sustainable. That includes being transparent about the resource realities facing SHORE and other community-based organizations providing sexual, reproductive, and gender-affirming care.

We are seeking secure resources and stronger partnerships that will allow SHORE to continue providing care without constant concern about funding stability. Sustainable investment would support staffing, retention, and long-term planning, allowing us to focus on care rather than crisis management.

At the same time, we want to see this care better integrated across the health system. Sexual, reproductive, and gender-affirming care should not be treated as specialized or exceptional. Much of this care can and should be provided by general practitioners, with appropriate training, support, and system structures in place.

Continued partnership with the OHT creates opportunities for shared learning and advocacy that move us toward that goal. The aim is a system where SHORE does not need to exist as a primary access point for services that should be widely available, and where people can receive respectful, affirming care wherever they enter the system.