Miriam Home educators supervise unique work program that boosts skills and confidence
Meet Alina, Richard, Mikael and other members of the Logistics team at Urgences-santé: They pack emergency kits for paramedics—and teach the power of inclusion at the same time.
Two days a week, these young adults with intellectual disabilities place Band-Aids, thermal blankets, blood pressure cuffs and other essentials into packages that accompany paramedics on the road. It’s part of a unique work program that’s expanded across Montreal—all of it under the supervision of educators from Miriam Home and Services, a member facility of CIUSSS West-Central Montreal.
“Good job!” Nadine Bellerose, a Specialized Educator at Miriam Home, says as she watches Chris-Marley Exorphe seal a blanket into a plastic bag. She follows up with a high five, while Mr. Exorphe beams. “Bravo!”
The program got its start thanks to an initiative in the early 2000s by Vânia Aguiar, a model and the mother of a son with autism who was seeking ways to help young adults like him to become autonomous and contribute to society. She established La Fondation Les Petits Rois and, with the support of our CIUSSS, helped set up a first work internship at Loto-Québec.
The program has now expanded to 10 locations including L’Oréal, the Cirque du Soleil, the Montreal Casino, Énergir, Urgences-santé and others, with a Miriam Home educator present at each work program. Participants also attend class at the specialized École Champagnat three days a week.
This four-way partnership—involving a school, our CIUSSS, Les Petits Rois and employers—is unique in Quebec, says Chantal Forget, Program Manager for the Community and Work Integration Program at Miriam Home. She says the set-up has opened new horizons for clients.
“We’re providing them with opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Chantal Forget, Program Manager for the Community and Work Integration Program at Miriam Home
The seven interns at Urgences-santé, some of whom also live on the autism spectrum, learn work and social skills while building confidence. Outfitted with Urgences-santé ID badges and shirts emblazoned with LOGISTICS on the back, they’re considered vital members of the emergency service’s workforce.
“They’re doing a job that’s really important. Each time a paramedics leaves, there’s a little bit of Les Petits Rois in their kit,” says Elaine Auger, Senior Advisor in Human Resources at Urgences-santé.
Ms. Bellerose of Miriam Home says she finds that working with the young clients, who are all in their 20s, is deeply rewarding. “They’re kind, genuine and authentic,” she says. “I treat them like my own family. And as I’m supporting them, I’m growing myself! They give me more than I give them.”
The work program is viewed by Urgences-santé as a major success, and Ms. Auger says none of it would have been possible without the expertise and guidance of CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, she says. She describes the approach of our professionals as “human and reassuring.”
“The CIUSSS has been an ally. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to integrate these young people into our organization. The work program wouldn’t exist.”
Elaine Auger, Senior Advisor in Human Resources at Urgences-santé.
And the “Little Kings” have had an impact on their workplace at Urgences-santé, she adds. In the 2½ years since these new team members came aboard—initially at Urgences-santé headquarters and now at a Logistics hub in Saint-Léonard—staff have come to value their presence.
“People have become really attached to Les Petits Rois,” Ms. Auger says. Some managers, who first expressed doubts about integrating the young interns with disabilities, are now asking whether they can get their own Petits Rois team. “It’s had a major impact. People are happy to see them and happy to get to know them. On days they’re not in, they ask where they are.”
“Our objective through Les Petits Rois was to sensitize our employees to what people living with disabilities are capable of accomplishing,” Ms. Auger adds. “And that’s what we’ve succeeded in doing.”