Melanie Boivin
Photo credit: Faculty of Continuing Education
Over the last seven years, Mélanie Boivin has established numerous services for indigenous people in urban areas in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. For them, education is key, it is essential so that members of their community can take better control of their future. She hopes other Aboriginal people like her have the opportunity to study at university and take up jobs both outside the community and within various Aboriginal organisations.
Given the lack of qualified workforce in psychoeducational intervention in Indigenous communities, the offer of training in this subject has been eagerly awaited. Today, a program is offered directly in the residential setting, based on knowledge and best psychoeducational practices and using educational strategies focused on the use of current intervention practices. “We don’t learn in school how to protect our children, the planet, our water and our animals, even though these are fundamental values that indigenous peoples carry,” emphasizes Mélanie Boivin.
This program will allow to deepen and enrich each intervention, ensuring optimal quality of services for clients with adaptation difficulties. In an interview, Mélanie Boivin tells us about her joy and relief that this training has taken hold.