« For the past ten years, I’ve appreciated Monday mornings for what they bring to my personal growth. These moments are precious for me. I am grateful for what they bring me. They are an important part of my week and nothing can take their place. I’ve been with several families when they first arrive at La Maison or when they grieve day by day. Each new arrival speaks to me and opens me up to living these welcoming moments better.
Some were neighbours, great friends with whom I shared happy times; others were ordinary people whose suffering and family love I could identify with. All of them are human beings longing for benevolence and serenity. That is my mission! I feel like I am an important person for them, and I know that I am here each Monday to bring them comfort and support, a smile and a warm presence. I share this short testimony for all that I have received over these ten years. It’s just a tiny bit of the joy that makes my Monday a bright ray of sunshine for the remainder of the week.”
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« For several years now, I have been a practical nurse at La Maison, and this is where my heart has chosen to settle down. It is a great privilege to be able to work in this respectful environment. At La Maison, we share moments of utmost intimacy with our patients in their final days, as well as with their family and loved ones who, with great trust, manage to let us take care of them too. I am filled with gratitude for the exchanges, the laughter, and the tears I experience here. I am also very proud to be a part of this beautiful large family made up of dedicated and passionate professionals and volunteers. What we experience here is beautiful. It is awesome! »
« For me, volunteering at the Welcome Desk means welcoming visitors with benevolence and a smile so that these people will feel some human warmth in which they will find comfort. It also means being gracious with all other visitors and being good company for the staff of La Maison. Volunteering makes me feel like a better person because giving makes one’s heart richer. »
« I love working at La Maison. Helping others makes me feel unbelievably good, and the patients are inspiring and courageous.
I hope I can work here for many more years. My colleagues are extraordinary. »
« The presence, support, listening, and lessons offered by the whole team at La Maison to patients and their loved ones are essential. They are the very essence of who we are as caregivers. For me, end-of-life psychosocial support implies an interest in understanding the individual with the utmost respect for their progress and pace, allowing them to access whatever is most significant for them.
Support requires the acceptance of the individual in their integrity, in what is unique and personal to them at this singular stage in their life. The end of life leads to great emotional intensity for both the patient and their loved ones. Therefore, it is essential, throughout a stay at La Maison, to show respect and openness and to avoid being judgmental.
“Supporting someone is not putting oneself before them, behind them, or in their place. It is standing beside them” Joseph Templier (free translation)
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« Volunteering in palliative care is a wonderful gift to give oneself. It is a unique opportunity to make encounters filled with simple, genuine, touching, and nurturing moments. It is also teaming up with people who care and are committed to doing good for each individual who comes to La Maison. It is a great privilege to be around death which is so filled with life and beauty. It lets me tame it better. Thank you! »
« The first time I set foot inside La Maison, I felt the tranquillity of the place, and it beckoned me. I have been a nursing assistant for five years now with the patients of La Maison. What I find in these premises is a dedicated team that cares deeply for the well-being of patients and their family. Working the night shift is not easy. That is why the management of La Maison shows concern for the environment and safety of the staff. I feel good there. Thanks to donations, we now have a verticalizer to protect patients and staff. This device helps preserve their self-sufficiency and makes my work easier. One finds comfort knowing that there is an institution providing end-of-life care in the Saint Vincent de Paul neighbourhood that exudes serenity and is filled with harmony. I am proud to contribute to that. »
« Ms.Germaine Picotin, who has been a volunteer at the Welcome Desk since April 22, 2017, is the author of La Maison de la Sérénité. After devoting 509 hours to that writing project over 2½ years, she exemplifies selflessness. She managed the project masterfully, in cooperation with Linda Bernard, Philanthropic Development Officer. Ariane Riou supported the two, co-founder of La Maison, Jeannette Rioux, member of the Board of Directors, Elisa Pucella, Medical Director, Nicolas Archambault, director and content producer, and Pauline Gilbert, General Manager. »
« Since early 2019, Jean Bertrand, coordinates La Maison’s painting project on a volunteer basis. He is supported by a team of volunteers, including his spouse, Ginette Roy, and Louise Gauthier and Louise St-Aubin. These volunteers have contributed an invaluable total of 800.5 hours to date. They perform colossal work improving the staff’s daily work without intruding on the patients’ tranquillity. The project is still underway. »