March 9, 2020
Photo Credit: Michel Lemire
Impossible to resist the happiness that emanates from the face of Mr. Jean-Claude Bouth, resident at the Centre d’hébergement La Pinière, located in the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul district of Laval.
On February 29th, Mr. Bouth and about twenty residents of La Pinière were visited by Lucy and Colette, two therapeutic clowns from the Dr. Clown Foundation. Since last September, every second week, the residents have been receiving “La Belle Visite”. This program of the Dr. Clown Foundation brings together seniors and artists dressed as members of a large Beauceron family, the Labelle, whose characters and costumes are inspired by the 1930s to the 1950s, an era close to the youth of the people visited.
“It’s impressive to see what contact with therapeutic clowns can produce. Some of our residents are isolated and do not participate much in the activities offered at the Centre. Seeing them light up like this when they come into contact with the clowns is heartwarming!”
– Renée-Claude Maltais, Recreation Therapist at the Centre d’hébergement La Pinière.
These moments of happiness are made possible by the financial contribution of the Cité de la Santé Foundation. The Foundation, which began with the Hôpital de la Cité-de-la-Santé, now serves the 32 facilities of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval, including the five residential centres for seniors (CHSLDs).
“You can be proud to make these beautiful visits to La Pinière possible! A wonderful example of the impact of your donations: fostering moments of joy, creating a smile and a moment of pure happiness for our residents like Mr. Bouth. On their behalf, I say THANK YOU!"
– André Malacket, Executive Director of the Cité de la Santé Foundation.
The Foundation would like to offer the “La Belle Visite” program in all our residential centres. Help us to put even more smiles on the faces of our seniors!