One Wednesday evening per month, the Le Bon Dieu dans la rue day centre becomes a true travelling veterinary clinic thanks to an initiative by Father Emmet Jones with the collaboration of students in Veterinary Medicine at the Université de Montréal. As part of the Les Animaux des jeunes de la rue project, future veterinarians go out to meet young street people and, first and foremost, their pets. For the project volunteers, it is of course an excellent general medical clinic experience where they can treat dogs, cats, rats, ferrets and even turtles and put their skills to the test. However, it is also an opportunity to encounter young dropouts, to assist them and to show open-mindedness towards their clients. Thanks to this project, over the last year more than 130 underprivileged youngsters have had access to veterinary services for their animals. Furthermore, this project has had a significant impact and has even attracted the attention of participants from Zoothérapie Québec.
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The Comité d'action sociale et internationale of the Université de Montréal aims to heighten public awareness of social action for disadvantaged sections of the population in regard to health, both in Quebec and in developing countries. Made up mainly of students from programs relating to health, the CASI has, for 15 years, enabled its members to act concretely by carrying out community projects and undertaking internships in foreign countries. Locally, CASI members, in a pre-internship training program, take part in different community activities, notably in a dinner organized in the Côte-des-Neiges district in Montreal to welcome and help integrate newly arrived immigrant families. They are also active within the university community where they organize conferences (Doctors Without Borders), round tables, debates and exhibitions. Last year, 25 students went to such far away places as Vietnam, Australia, Egypt, Thailand and Bolivia. An educational journey for our health professionals of the future!
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Depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide are all problems which worry and affect more and more young people (70% of youngsters who commit suicide are also depressed). In order to find solutions to curb this phenomenon, two students from Concordia University, whose Master's degrees focus on therapy through creative arts, launched the Group Creative Arts Therapies project. Made up of adolescents aged between 14 and 17 who are depressed and suicidal, the project encourages its participants to follow a group therapy based on artistic and theatrical expression. Through group therapy such as this, the two students want to demonstrate that the approach can considerably decrease the overall incidence of the aforementioned disorders. In a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people living with depression, the project also attempts to promote the effectiveness and credibility of therapy through creative arts in the field of mental health. It is hoped that the result will be that young people can express their emotions and problems while at the same time learning how to manage them.
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