Across Quebec, daycare services hoist white “doudous” – acting as flags – in solidarity with the staff of the daycare center hit by a bus on Wednesday in Laval. Educators from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean say they are ready to go to the Laval city to take care of the child victims of the tragedy that left two dead and six injured.
The educators of the Académie des mini-amours and the Garderie des mini-amours, located in Chicoutimi, were shaken by the tragedy experienced by their colleagues in Laval. “We asked ourselves the question right away: ‘How can we help?’,” says the owner of the two daycare services, Raphaëlle Laforest-Allard. We put ourselves in the shoes of the parents, that yes maybe they would like to keep their child at home, but that they will have no choice but to send their child back to daycare. »
A dozen educators – out of the thirty in the two facilities – raise their hands to lend a hand in Laval, says Raphaëlle Laforest-Allard. “If the need is, we’ll be there next Monday for sure,” she said. We are ready to move, whether it is in the new premises of the Ste-Rose Educational Daycare or neighboring daycares. I think we have to unite, the whole network of daycare services together. »
In the office of the Minister of the Family Suzanne Roy, it is indicated that all the children attending the Ste-Rose Educational Daycare have been relocated to other daycare services near their residence. “There is no need at the moment,” said press officer Catherine Pelletier. But as the Minister mentioned, all these initiatives show the strength and solidarity of our network. »
A glimmer of hope
Two children, out of the four hospitalized at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center (CHU), have been discharged. “The other two patients are still hospitalized and present a state of health whose evolution is rather favorable, writes the health establishment. We continue to offer psychosocial support to their families. Hospital staff can also benefit from an employee assistance program if they feel the need.
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