Thanks to several Portage Foundation partners, residents of the Portage rehabilitation centres received a wide array of Christmas presents during the 2018 Holiday Season. Many thanks to Avaya, RBC, Fondation Carmand Normand, IBM Québec and Richard Mayrand for their great generosity.
Avaya donates food baskets for families in Portage’s supervised apartments
For a third consecutive year, Avaya provided food baskets for mothers living with their
children in Portage’s supervised apartments.
Avaya employees prepared the food baskets thanks to the $2,900 raised in their workplace and with the contribution of Métro Plus Bellemare in Brossard. A team of employees went through the aisles of Métro Plus Bellemare selecting products and food items for the Holiday Season. “What motivates us to raise funds here at Avaya is making sure that families who have worked very hard to take back control of their lives enjoy a merry Christmas. Avaya employees who toured the Mother-Child Centre where families stay for treatment before going on to the supervised apartments were very moved by the comments of the mother who accompanied them during their visit”, explained Avaya Canada regional manager Stéphane Nadeau, who launched the project.
Staying in supervised apartments helps mothers and children transition from the structured and secure living environment of the Portage Mother-Child Centre to an autonomous lifestyle. Clinical, social and career guidance services are available on site to tenants of the supervised apartments. Moreover, tenants work together on the day-to-day management of their community, with the help of Portage counsellors.
Portage wishes to thank all the Avaya employees who helped add some magic to these families’ Christmas season and who donated non-perishable food items for clients of the Montreal Day Centre.
Montreal Day Centre Clients Gifted with New Clothes Thanks to RBC
This year, clients of the Montreal Day Centre received new clothes thanks to RBC Royal Bank. It was a wonderful surprise for the 27 future residents, who can’t always afford to buy warm winter clothes.
“These are really great gifts RBC gave us. And it’s especially heartwarming now, during the Holiday Season“, said Pierre, a client at the Day Centre.
The Montreal Day Centre welcomes adults who wish to enter the drug addiction rehabilitation program at the Lac Écho residential centre. The Day Centre offers preparation and support services to future residents before they head up to the Lac Écho centre. Montréal Day Centre counsellors welcome clients four days a week, from 10 am to 4 pm, for group meetings, workshops and individual support. They help clients understand Portage’s therapeutic community approach and provide a positive social support network. Portage wishes to thank Ms. Anne-Marie David, Director, National Client Group, for her valued contribution over the past many years. Thanks to RBC Royal Bank, our future residents will stay warm.
The Fondation Carmand Normand Pampers TSTM Program Residents
On December 20th, two elves from the Portage Foundation delivered cozy throw
blankets donated by the Carmand Normand Foundation to the nine female residents of the TSTM centre.
The board members of the Fondation wanted to offer a comforting gift to the residents, who were very moved by the gesture. The throws are perfect for cocooning while watching TV, a popular activity among residents in their free time.
The program for women suffering from both mental illness and drug addiction was launched in June 2018. The women are able to maintain their ties with their medical team and family members while they are in the rehabilitation program.
Portage wishes to thank Mr. Carmand Normand, Founder, Ms. Chantal Ouellet, Executive Director and Administrator, Fondation Carmand Normand, as well as Ms. Marie Grégoire, Chairperson, and Ms. Fannie-Claire Normand, Administrator, for their generosity.
IBM Québec invites Lac Écho youth to a showing of Corteo
On December 23rd, nine female residents of the Lac Écho rehabilitation centre gathered
in IBM Québec’s loge at the Bell Centre to watch the Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo.
That afternoon, the girls headed to the Bell Centre in Montréal, accompanied by a
counsellor, to see the show featuring a clown who watches his life story unfold
before his eyes under the benevolent gaze of angels as he attends his own
funeral.
The girls thoroughly enjoyed the Cirque du Soleil production which invites the audience
into a theatrical world set in a carnival atmosphere. The girls expressed their delight with the show and the warm welcome they received, exclaiming “That was totally cool”, “That was awesome’ and “VIP
treatment from start to finish”.
They also expressed their thanks to IBM in a thank you card that reads as follows:
“The girls’ community at Portage wishes to thank you for your awesome gift. We are
extremely grateful for your generosity. Thanks to you, we had a truly memorable
day. Many thanks!”
Portage would also like to thank Stéphane
Dufort, Vice-President of Industrial and Commercial Sectors at IBM, and Portage
trustee, for his unwavering support.
Movie Day and Time for Reflection at the Lac Écho Centre
On December 27th, the young residents of the Lac Écho centre enjoyed a movie day
with Richard Mayrand, Executive Vice President, Pharmacy and Government Affairs, of the Jean Coutu Group.
As he has done several times before, Mr. Mayrand facilitated a day of reflection, following a viewing of the movie The Truman Show and a pizza lunch. After the movie, everyone gathered together to talk about the themes addressed in the movie in light of the many discussions residents engage in throughout their rehabilitation journey at Portage.
Every year, young people aged 14 to 18 enter our drug addiction rehabilitation program at Lac Écho to develop the social skills and competencies required to live a
positive, productive, substance-free life.
Portage wishes to thank Mr. Mayrand for his outstanding generosity and for the wonderful day enjoyed by the young residents.
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