1-888-303-7245 (PAIL)

Who we are

Our Services

Experiencing the loss of a pregnancy or the death of a baby is devastating. But you aren’t alone. Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network is here to help, with free group and individual peer-support services offered to families across Ontario.

Our Teams

Learn more about our PAIL Network Team

Michelle La Fontaine is the Program Manager of  Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Network. Michelle benefitted from peer support provided by PAIL Network to her and her family after the loss of their twins in 2005. Michelle is devoted to helping families get the support and resources they need to learn how to incorporate the loss of a baby into their lives in order to find hope.  She was instrumental in the development and advocacy around the passing of Bill 141: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness, Research and Care Act, 2015 and is forever grateful to Mike Colle for this legislation.

Michelle enjoys any opportunities to spend time with family, friends, and a good book.

 

Amy Muhr

Amy Muhr is the Volunteer Resource and Support Coordinator for PAIL Network.  Amy brings more than 13 years of experience working with volunteers in various capacities to her current role of coordinating over 100 peer support volunteers across Ontario.  She is devoted to fostering a supportive program for all volunteers who share their heart and time with families who are grieving the loss of their pregnancy or the death of their baby.  Amy enjoys a rural life on a lake and painting.

 

Stacey Radford 

Stacey Radford is the Referrals Coordinator for PAIL Network.  In this role, Stacey introduces families who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss to the PAIL Network’s Family Support Program, and helps to get families connected with peer support offered by PAIL Network’s trained volunteers.

Stacey has experience working in municipal government in the social services sector which has allowed her to connect with vulnerable people in a way that is respectful and collaborative, in order to best understand how the program can meet their needs.

 

Suzie O’Regan 

As the Special Projects Coordinator, Suzie oversees a wide range of initiatives, including PAIL Network’s commemorative events, volunteer onboarding and engagement events, and Compassionate Care Workshops.  She also works behind the scenes to develop internal processes and database training for staff and peer-volunteers.

Before joining PAIL Network in 2017, Suzie spent over 12 years working as a teacher and program coordinator in the not-for-profit sector supporting children living with serious illness and their families.  She has had the privilege to teach in Toronto, and internationally in Jamaica, South Korea, and Australia.  She has recently completed her Certificate in Children’s Grief and Bereavement at the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health, and is passionate about building inclusive spaces and providing opportunities for people to grieve and be supported by community.

When she isn’t working, Suzie can likely be found exploring ravines and forests with her family, cooking traditional Lebanese food, or painting in her garden.

 

Megan Fockler

Megan Fockler works as the Education Coordinator for PAIL Network where she leads the team that provides workshops to professionals around Ontario about the provision of skilled and compassionate care to families who experience the loss of a pregnancy or death of their baby. She also supports the development of resources for families and professionals and conducts research aimed to understand and improve the care experience of families when they interact with the healthcare system. Her interest in working with bereaved families began on the Labour and Delivery floor where she worked as a nurse with families around the time of their babies’ deaths. It was with these families and babies that she learned how professionals can make a positive difference with the care they provide, and she carries these lessons with her when she teaches workshops. Always honoured to listen to families’ ideas for improving bereavement care, Megan is committed to supporting these conversations and supporting professionals to provide skilled and compassionate care.

When not in the Education Coordinator role, Megan works as an Advanced Practice Nurse in the DAN Women and Babies Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.  She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and a Practice-Based Researcher at the Sunnybrook Research Institute. Megan holds a HBSc and BScN from the University of Toronto and a MPH from the University of Waterloo.

When not at work, you can find Megan spending time with family, working to perfect her baking skills, and avoiding being the person needed to BBQ anything.

 

Joanna Diindiisikwe Simmons (Burt)
*on leave* – Please direct any questions to Michelle La Fontaine

Joanna is an Ojibwe artist from Lindsay Ontario. Joanna is a professional opera singer and is a graduate of the Glenn Gould School of Music (Glenn Gould) of the Royal Conservatory. Joanna is keeping her ties in theatre by providing artistic direction to the small indie Toronto opera company, Loose Tea Music Theatre.

As the Special Projects Coordinator, she is leading the creation of programs alongside the PAIL Network team to provide pregnancy and infant loss support to Indigenous peoples both urban and rural across Ontario, education to health care professionals, and will support awareness and advocacy through events that will include traditional approaches to grief, bereavement, and finding hope.

Joanna looks forward to contributing to a better future for Indigenous peoples and is excited for the evolution and advancement of Indigenous engagement within the arts in Canada.

 

Loralee McInroy

Loralee joined the PAIL Network in 2015 as a volunteer and started facilitating her local circle of support. In 2018, she joined the PAIL Network staff as the South Eastern Regional Representative. Most recently, she has taken on the role of Referrals Coordinator and enjoys helping families find the type of support that is right for them. Loralee enjoys supporting bereaved families as a way to honour her daughter, Angel, and to help ensure families feel supported during a very isolating time. When she is not supporting families, she loves going on adventures with her husband and two living kids.

 

Noelle Miley

Noelle is the part-time Administrative Assistant for the Pail Network. Noelle has over 15 years of administrative experience, and is always willing to help out wherever she can. She is very excited to be a part of such a supportive organization, and work with great people. When not in the office, Noelle enjoys spending time with her family.

 

Learn more about our PAIL Educators
Meghan Donohue

Meghan Donohue has been a facilitator for PAIL since 2013.  She is also currently a Clinical Educator in the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.  She moved into this role in 2011 after spending 10 years as a bedside nurse caring for sick and premature infants.  Meghan obtained her BScN from Queen’s University in 2000, her CNeoN(c) in 2018 and her MN from Athabasca University in 2020.  Her key areas of clinical interest are resuscitation and care of the acutely ill neonate as well as perinatal palliative care and bereavement.

 

Sony Singh

Sony has recently joined PAIL Network as an Educator but her connection to PAIL started many years ago. Her journey to PAIL started back in January 2015, when after the the loss of her daughter Maahi who was born still she was encouraged to reach out to PAIL Network. She joined the peer support groups which was a key resource for her and her family to cope with the loss of her daughter and is grateful for the compassion, care, and comfort she received. Sony is grateful to be able to share her story with others about her loss, in hopes to educate Health Care professionals on how best they can support bereaved parents during this time.

When not in the Educator role, Sony is an Integrated Care Manager in the Not for Profit Community sector. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family, traveling and whipping up new recipes. She has a creative side to her and loves to try new home diy projects.

 

Megan Fockler

Megan Fockler works as the Education Coordinator for PAIL Network where she leads the team that provides workshops to professionals around Ontario about the provision of skilled and compassionate care to families who experience the loss of a pregnancy or death of their baby. She also supports the development of resources for families and professionals and conducts research aimed to understand and improve the care experience of families when they interact with the healthcare system. Her interest in working with bereaved families began on the Labour and Delivery floor where she worked as a nurse with families around the time of their babies’ deaths. It was with these families and babies that she learned how professionals can make a positive difference with the care they provide, and she carries these lessons with her when she teaches workshops. Always honoured to listen to families’ ideas for improving bereavement care, Megan is committed to supporting these conversations and supporting professionals to provide skilled and compassionate care.

When not in the Education Coordinator role, Megan works as an Advanced Practice Nurse in the DAN Women and Babies Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.  She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and a Practice-Based Researcher at the Sunnybrook Research Institute. Megan holds a HBSc and BScN from the University of Toronto and a MPH from the University of Waterloo.

When not at work, you can find Megan spending time with family, working to perfect her baking skills, and avoiding being the person needed to BBQ anything.

 

Amy Robert

 

Brandon Drouillard

Learn more about our Regional Representatives
Jennifer Jamieson

Jennifer’s connection with PAIL Network began in 2013 when she joined the community as a bereaved parent. She used the services for two years before going through facilitator training to lead PAIL Network’s Hamilton Circle Of Support Group. Jennifer proudly watched PAIL grow from the ‘little organization that could’ back in those days transform into the larger network of support as we know it to be today. In that transition, Jennifer was given the opportunity to take on a Regional Representative Role where she is honoured to support PAIL Network’s Volunteers who truly are the cornerstone of this organization.

 

Kim Breau

Kim has been involved with PAIL since August of 2016.  Initially, Kim came for support in July 2016 after the loss of her son Joseph. Prior to losing Joseph, between 2006 – 2010 Kim suffered 3 miscarriages and leaned heavily on her family and friends to survive.  While she had incredible support,  she wished she had found PAIL sooner, as the support from someone who had a similar lived experience was a welcomed comfort. Kim had learned that so many assume the loss of her son was much harder than her miscarriages, and it wasn’t. To Kim, the losses were different, but equally hard, and support really helped in healing.

Kim started speaking at Compassionate Care Workshops and then in 2018 she completed the PAIL Peer Support Volunteer training to be a facilitator for a Circles of Support group.  It was her way to honour her angel babies and support other parents on a difficult journey through a loss at any stage.  Kim looks forward to supporting PAIL Network volunteers and continuing to support families.

 

Beth Lewis

Beth is the mother of four children, two young-adult daughters, and two sons, Jacob, and Nolan, who both died at birth. Her experience of pregnancy and infant loss has informed her desire to offer support to the PAIL Network, and families who have suffered such losses. These experiences were some of the loneliest moments in her life, and the ability to offer compassion, support and healing to others who know that lonely place has been a driving factor in her pursuit of volunteering as well as further education. Beth has offered support through one-on-one phone support, loss specific online facilitation and mixed loss groups.

She is completing her Master of Arts, Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University and will be done practicum in August 2022. Along with a twenty-year career in Real Estate, volunteering, practicum and a small private practice, Beth keeps busy with her beloved husband, daughters, and pets. She looks forward to providing support as a Regional Representative for PAIL volunteers, and the families who benefit from this essential support.

 

Melissa Rooney

Melissa’s son Charlie was born still fourteen years ago. In 2021 Melissa looked for opportunities to support other families with similar loss experiences and found PAIL Network. When Charlie died, Melissa didn’t know about PAIL Network and she knew of no one that had suffered a loss similar to hers. Melissa has offered both phone support and online support and has found this volunteer experience to be healing for herself. 

She looks forward to her role as a Regional Representative for PAIL volunteers in Northern Ontario and continuing support for families.