A woman and child at the Centre Louise Amelie

Giving back

Protecting women and children in Quebec

Oct 8, 2019

The Centre Louise Amelie works tirelessly 24/7, 365 days a year to provide a home for women and children who are suffering from abuse.

We are proud to support the Centre Louise Amelie a shelter that not only offers refuge to women and children who are victims of conjugal abuse and violence, but also one-on-one help sessions, group activities, support through divorce and access to social workers for children.

The sad reality of abuse is that children are often caught in the middle and are almost always spectators. The Centre helps kids develop self-esteem and provides them tools to communicate their emotions. They have also created fun workbooks to address difficult topics in a non-threatening way, encouraging kids to open up. Our Rimouski Community Board has invested more than $37,000 over the last three years, allowing the Centre to improve the services they provide. More specifically, the Centre has been able to increase the number of hours their social workers spend with the kids.

“These women tolerate the un-tolerable, but when their partners go after their kids, the women quickly seek help.”

- Monic Caron, Director of the Centre Louise Amelie

The shelter is located in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, one of the poorest communities in Quebec and in the entire country. The women who go to the shelter are usually low-income, and often they don’t have the time to do activities with their kids. Consequently, the social workers put an emphasis providing kids with an outlet. They give them opportunities to do fun activities, such as arts and crafts with their mothers. The Centre thinks of a mother and child relationship as a muscle that needs to be trained, and can be developed.

“To work in an industry such as this one, one must be passionate and devoted to this specific clientele and this specific issue,” explains Monic Caron, the Centre’s director. We are pleased to be able to help Monic and her team focus their efforts on bettering the lives of women and children, and we appreciate every step they take towards building a healthier, happier, abuse-free community.