Helena Girouard, MPH
Helena Girouard, MPH is a maternal health and recovery advocate, family peer support specialist, and the Founder and Principal Consultant of Periscope of Hope, LLC, a national consulting firm focused on parent leadership, substance-exposed newborns, maternal mental health, adverse childhood experiences, and data storytelling. She co-founded Baby Steps, Inc., a perinatal clinic in Volusia County, Florida, to address a critical prenatal care gap in a county where over 50% of women rely on Medicaid and few providers accepted it. Working alongside Dr. Carbineer, her own OBGYN from twelve years ago who volunteers pro bono, Baby Steps has supported over 650 patients since its opening, offering prenatal care, mental health support, recovery services, telehealth, and comprehensive resources for families facing complex barriers. Helena also works directly with families as a peer support specialist, supporting loved ones navigating substance use and mental health challenges.
With extensive experience in public health, program management, and policy advocacy, Helena has served as an Overdose Prevention Program Coordinator, Maternal and Child Health Program Coordinator, Clinical Case Manager, and Florida Certified Contract Manager. She has worked with the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County, the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, and other national initiatives, learning from leading communities on health equity strategies including a 2019 study of Rhode Island’s health equity framework. Through her work at Periscope of Hope, she collaborates with diverse partners to plan and conduct surveys, generate data-informed reports, and lead efforts in maternal and child health, program evaluation, and recovery support.
Helena is a Doctoral Candidate in Health Science at Keiser University, with a dissertation on The Positive Impact of Hope on Health Outcomes. She holds a Master of Public Health from Hawaii Pacific University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Flagler College. She is a Maternal Mental Health Policy Fellow with the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health and a Pritzker Fellow with the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers. Helena combines her lived experience, research expertise, and leadership skills to advocate for underserved communities, drive meaningful policy change, and ensure families have access to hope-centered, whole-person care.
• Hawaii Pacific University - MPH, Public Health
• Daytona State College - AS, Human services
• Flagler College - BS, Public Administration
• Baby Steps Perinatal Clinic (Co-founder and Board Member)
• Volusia Recovery Alliance
• Periscope of Hope
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to connection to people and hope. Everything that I do is through my own lived experience. Thirteen years ago, I was homeless, I was sexually assaulted super violently, I almost died, I had broken ribs and all kinds of things. I ended up getting pregnant from it, I was addicted to opiates, and when I saw Dr. Carbineer, she was the first person that was nice to me, and she said she thought I had potential. We titrated off of opiates in the hospital, and then I went to treatment, and started volunteering at the Healthy Starts and the Early Learning Coalitions and early childhood initiatives. I had to really fight to go back to school, and it has been a fight after fight after fight through everything. Connection to people and hope - that's what drives everything I do.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never give up. I was homeless 13 years ago, I was sexually assaulted super violently, I almost died, I had broken ribs and all kinds of things. I ended up getting pregnant from it, I was addicted to opiates, and when I saw Dr. Carbineer, she was the first person that was nice to me and she said she thought I had potential. We titrated off of opiates in the hospital, and then I went to treatment, and started volunteering. I had to really fight to go back to school, and it has been a fight after fight after fight through everything. But everything that I do is through my own lived experience, so my advice is having someone with lived experience at the table always someone who has been through it, not somebody who's sat on the other side of the desk. Someone who understands that they're one bad decision away from being on the other side of the desk. It gets really hard, and you have to fight. But not giving up, and then fighting to make the change so the others don't have to go through what you went through - that's what I'm all about.
Locations
Periscope of Hope, LLC
Ormond Beach, FL 32174