STE-GENEVIEVE – For more than 50 years, the Pat Roberts Developmental Centre has helped parents with children who have special needs.
Now, the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped (WIAIH) is hoping to expand it to include a drop-in centre for all children six and under.
“Intervening before the age of six is key,” said Natalie Chapman the WIAIH’s executive director.
“And it’s not just key for children who have cognitive problems, it’s key for all children.”
The WIAIH estimates that 70 per cent of mental health issues begin during childhood, but Chapman also points out that a drop-in centre would allow parents the opportunity to share notes and introduce their children to other families with similar needs.
It’s something that’s top-of-mind for Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, MP for Pierrefonds-Dollard and the mother of a six-month-old boy.
“I think it will answer a need, and I think that parents will benefit from a place that belongs to them, a place they feel comfortable to share,” she said.
“There’s no manual, and there’s always going to be difficult times. So having a resource where you can go and share with other parents is important.”
Chapman is trying to raise $2 million to get the project off the ground because there aren’t enough family resource centres in the West Island.
A partial reason for the death of those centres is the misconception that the West Island is affluent, said Eric Dugas, a borough councillor in the area.
Areas like Ste-Genevieve, where one out of four people live below the poverty line, are often overlooked.
He used the term “bedroom syndrome” to describe the problem.
“When you have people over at your home, and your home is not in order, you tend to hide things in your bedroom and closing the door so that your company doesn’t see,” Dugas said.
A big question is whether the province, which is currently in austerity mode, will fund such a centre long-term.
At a February 27 fundraiser for it, Martin Coiteux, the MNA for Nelligan, sounded optimistic, but planning for the centre is still in the early stages.
The WIAIH hopes to open the drop-in centre in 2017.
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