The Grand tour des petites écoles is back again this year, but with some new features.
You’re probably familiar with how it works:  a team of young students from La Ruche High School trains two mornings a week from December to May.
Some students who participate have school related problems, such as a lack of motivation, low self-esteem, behaviour problems, ADHD, as well as substance abuse and addictions. Throughout the preparation process, the students get training support, as well as support with nutrition, road safety, self-confidence and perseverance.
Various activities are planned to allow these youth to become ambassadors and to share what they’ve experienced and learned not only with students from “small schools” (the elementary schools in the MRC), but also with those from La Ruche.  What’s new this year is the opportunity for schools to request a fleet of bikes.  In fact, a new aspect of the project is the creation of a bike repair shop.
Experts give workshops on the mechanics of bikes in order to give a second life to some “beat up” bikes.
The used bikes were donated by the City - through its Ecocentre - and by private individuals and then refurbished by the students.
The result is a fleet of some 50 bikes that will be available to schools for the Grand tour des petites écoles, but also for plenary and road safety activities.
And who knows...the project might undergo more changes in the future!

Our evaluation process, which is supported by Marielle Thibaudeau, an external evaluator, is slowly moving forward.  The hoped-for outcome of this work is an enhanced relationship of trust between the families who are at risk and their regional organizations and community.
 
We conducted two surveys of various stakeholders in the MRC to determine what kind of support and training they might need to implement the Réseau Parent’Aise Approach (designed to enrich practices that create alliances with families who are in a situation of neglect).  The results allowed us to develop a training plan accompanied by community support.
 
In addition, the evaluator carried out telephone interviews of MRC stakeholders from different business sectors and occupations, which yielded winning practices in dealing with vulnerable families.  The goal was to understand the attitudes, approaches and intervention strategies that foster a relationship of trust with vulnerable families.  A report was prepared based on the data from these interviews. 
 
Subsequently, stakeholdres from different business sectors (community, CPE, municipal, and CSSS), worked on proposals for applying the interview data to different occupations (secretary, manager, child development worker, family support worker, citizen service officer).  They also worked on the best ways of increasing their own awareness and of making changes in their practices that would help build relationships of trust with families in the MRC.  Several interesting suggestions were put forward during the meeting (Parent’Aise Approach training, role playing, awareness capsules, co-development between and within organizations, checklist, self-assessment, etc.).  These proposals will guide the development of an action plan to help us reach our objective of building stronger ties between vulnerable families and their community and regional organizations. 

As part of our action plan for 0-5 year olds, the Socio-economic Committee has been working for more than a year on actions aimed at improving the living conditions of at-risk families with young children.  By offering our support, we hope parents can improve their ability to meet the basic needs of their children.
 
Committee stakeholders have developed a remobilization project for parents of young children who’ve been out of touch with the labour market or with training opportunities.  The goal is to help them make greater strides with respect to training, orientation and employability, thereby improving their living conditions.
 
With this project, we want to offer parents an opportunity to get back into action by allowing them to break out of their isolation, enjoy a pleasant group experience, and receive support that’s both flexible and adapted to their needs.  The partners feel it’s important to listen to the parents, which is why they chose a formula that’s flexible and progressive.
 
In practical tems, the “program” will take place over the course of 10 months, with three half days a week.  An intervenor will always be part of the group in order to provide parents with ongoing and personalized support.  A second resource person will coordinate the project and also regularly interact with the parents.  The program is made up of four tracks (professional, educational, personal, and family), and includes discussions with the parents on various topics.  The parents will choose the topics that interest them, and the appropriate professionals will be invited to take part if they so wish.
 
At the same time, it’s also important to eliminate any impediment to their participation in the program.  Therefore, several options will be made available to parents, such as spaces in drop-in daycares, a $9 subsidy per half-day, reimbursement of travel expenses, and food service (snacks and breakfast) during the program..
 
If all goes well, the project, which is awaiting validation, will start in the fall of 2016!