WIAIH celebrates 60 years of serving the West Island

The parents of a young Lena Baldoni didn’t know what would become of her — she was born on the autism spectrum.

“Was she going to be able to make friends? Would she be able to socialize? We had no hope,” said her mother, Francine Boyer. “We definitely had no hope.”

Boyer enrolled her daughter at the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped’s preschool.

Early on, her mother noticed Baldoni would trace cartoon characters in her spare time. “And then she started making her own characters. And when she started making her own characters we realized she just loved doing it,” Boyer said.

Now Lena Baldoni is 25 and sells her cartoons, paintings and postcards, of which she has created hundreds.

WIAIH celebrated its 60th birthday by holding a block party Saturday afternoon in front of its Pointe-Claire headquarters on Donegani Avenue.

The non-profit helps people with intellectual disabilities, and many past presidents are past clients as well.

Courtney Lai-Hing was one of them, who also had a child born on the autism spectrum.

He describes a common theme among parents who’ve leaned on WIAIH. What impressed him was “just the incredible support, people who understood what we were going through.”

Although the block party was not a fundraiser, WIAIH is looking to expand in the future, as its building is too small to house all the recreational activities it hosts.

Though WIAIH is a community pillar prized as a resource, Saturday’s block party was also just an excuse to enjoy good weather. “We’re here to just have a blast and enjoy ourselves,” said executive director Lyne Charlebois.