New bedrooms, activity and rest rooms will soon be occupied by six young people aged 8 to 14 with special needs in “La Maisonnée”, an organization that aims to help them reintegrate into their living environment.
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The Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, and the Minister responsible for the Mauricie region and Member of Parliament for Trois-Rivières, Jean Boulet, inaugurated the new service on Thursday.
“We are opening an intensive rehabilitation center for young people with behavioral problems. It can come with an intellectual disability, an autism spectrum disorder, a mental health disorder. This intensive intervention allows them to return to their living environment, ”explained Minister Carmant.
The project is the result of a collaboration between the Directorate of the Youth-Family Program and the Directorate of the Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Physical Impairment Program. The young people who participate will be accompanied throughout the rehabilitation by professionals.
Parents will also actively participate in the program, to facilitate the reintegration of the child at home.
“The parents will be met, the service will be explained, the way to operate. We gave a lot of emphasis to the involvement of the family very early in the process and in continuity, ”assured the deputy director of youth accommodation, rehabilitation and delinquency at the CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Center-du- Quebec, Mathieu Bédard.
The place of reintegration will be chosen in advance and the program will be adapted and specific to everyone’s needs, he added.
From the layout to the decor, including the lighting, absolutely everything has been designed for newcomers. For example, a color system makes it possible to define each room so that the young person can easily find himself in the space.
“We wanted young people and families to feel good, to feel as if they were in an almost natural environment,” said Mr. Bédard.
To achieve this result, Quebec funded the project to the tune of $ 2.2 million from 2018.
Mr. Carmant adds that psychotherapists, clinical coordinators, educators, intervention agents and occupational therapists have been hired to follow the occupants throughout their stay.
Moreover, the Deputy Director General of Social and Rehabilitation Programs of the CIUSSS MCQ, Daniel Garneau, estimates that the passage of a young person is on average from nine to 18 months.
“Sometimes it can be less, you understand, sometimes it can be more,” he said.
Facilities also include an overflow bed for cases that require emergency response.
Everything is in place so that the residents of “La Maisonnée” are reintegrated as quickly as possible, but without skipping any steps.
The project could spread across Quebec. Other resources could be inspired by the “La Maisonnée” model since the concrete results of the program will be shared by it.