In order to prevent neglect of young children, the organization Répit Providence is holding a forum next week so that this issue finds its place in the news and that the offer of the community environment is highlighted.
Serving mainly the east end of Montreal, Répit Providence helps parents and children by offering temporary housing and nutrition services as well as educational activities. The “parent-child bond and relationship are at the heart of Répit Providence’s services,” says the organization’s executive director, Isabelle Perreault. “We have to give meaning to this relationship. We have to work on it. So, it’s not just about giving housing or food.”
Valérie Houle, who used the organization’s services, will tell her story at the forum scheduled for September 25, where there will be conferences by experts from the field and testimonials from parents. will be on the schedule.
According to Isabelle Perreault, the testimony of Mme Houle will be the most relevant. “It’s important that people in the field can listen to the testimony of someone who has really used our services and benefited from them,” she says.
For Valérie Houle, her experience can be summed up in a few words: “They saved my life.” The single mother of two began using the organization’s services at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was single-handedly caring for her 6-year-old son and newborn daughter.
“School stopped and I was home alone looking after my two children. It was critical,” she says. “I was very anxious, I wasn’t working, I was isolated and my network was limited because of the pandemic. But they were very supportive.”
The help provided by Répit Providence began with food, which the organization delivered directly to M’s home.me Houle. Shortly after, his children were able to be temporarily housed.
Support and learning
Beyond these respites that “saved her life,” Valérie Houle especially remembers the training and activities she participated in. “I learned things that I still apply to this day,” she says. “We did role plays, little homework assignments,” she reports. She cites the example of a session where she and her children were able to express themselves on different situations. In the following class, “they helped us with what we had experienced. It was really concrete.”
The mother says she has read a lot about positive parenting and personal development, which has “given her tools.”
However, nothing compares to the training she received during her stays at the organization. The lessons learned still persist today. “I can prevent crises, defuse them more easily,” she reveals. This is also the case for her children. Her son, for example, “had developed aggression when my daughter was born.” With the help of Répit Providence, there was “a decrease in aggression. He became more of a leader,” she says.
After the pandemic and after developing new tools, Valérie Houle wanted to give back to Répit Providence. So, she volunteers there as much as possible. She also takes part in activities, such as dance classes, which she attends with her daughter, so that she can “keep a foot” in the organization.
Valérie Houle wants to share her experience at the September 25 forum because “it could happen to anyone.” “I want people to know that resources like Répit Providence exist,” she says.
A vision shared by Isabelle Perreault, who wants her organization to be better known, for example as an alternative to youth protection (DPJ), which, according to her, is not always the appropriate solution. “The DPJ is overloaded with requests. So, we really need to review our practices, our ways of working together to have a significant impact on the organization of services,” she says.
Focused on the prevention of child neglect, the Répit Providence forum also includes, among other things, panels by the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, and the President of the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection, Régine Laurent, as well as workshops of all kinds.