A community cornerstone on the West Island is celebrating a big move.
For two decades, l’Equipe Entreprise has been helping those living with mental illness by helping them acquire new life and professional skills in the kitchen.
Working at l’Equipe Entreprise helped Cameroon Khan get out of a rough patch 16 years ago.
“I was a bit sick after my divorce and I found I needed some time to get out and meet people and here was the answer,” Khan said.
L’Equipe Entreprise taught her how to use cooking as a way to lift herself up.
Khan preps meals for seniors in the Meals for Wheels program.
“It’s very good helping people, you help yourself,” Khan added.
L’Equipe Entreprise doesn’t place participants and doesn’t pay them for the training they receive.
“We are here to give the participants a sense of self, a tool to enter back into the community with,” chef Natasha Chugh said.
And now, the 35 participants of the program will be able to learn other new skills, thanks to l’Equipe’s new facility.
After 20 years in their Dawson Avenue location in Dorval, they have moved to a bigger building on the Trans-Canada Highway.
“We are going to be able to do more activities,” Marie-Claude Wilkins, L’Equipe Entreprise’s director, said.
“The activities include housekeeping, they will include dishwashing, on top of the cooking.”
The move is a testament to how far the organization has come.
“We started with a very small budget,” founder Francoise Vien said.
“We worked very hard because we were convinced that there was a way of providing significant work for people who have mental health challenges and I think it’s proven to be right.”
In their case, the proof is in the pudding.
Comments