Child and family health-care centre expands to better serve Cree and Inuit in northern Quebec

A child and family health-care facility in Quebec's far north opened the doors of a new building last month that's nearly twice the size of the previous one.

Minnie's Hope serves Whapmagoostui and Kuujjuaraapik, side-by-side Cree and Inuit communities on the coast of Hudson Bay. Normally their health services are administered by separate authorities, but Minnie's Hope, a social pediatric centre, is unique because it's shared between the two. 

"The new building has separate rooms for different services, for example, sound therapy, music therapy and many more services for whatever the clients need in their life," said Louisa Wynne, president of the board of directors at Minnie's Hope.

For her, seeing the new building was emotional.

Minnie's Hope was first launched in 2014 in a single room in a Catholic church which has since been condemned.

"Today there are 17 programs," said Wynne. "Before the new building was built, we only had two programs and now we also have 17 employees to cater to the needs of the clients."

"We're holistic but also we put cultural safety at the core of what we do," said Dr. Johanne Morel, a pediatrician and one of the founders of Minnie's Hope. Morel also works at the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Staff at the centre examine the family situation, community circumstances, and available resources. They identify additional support for the child, and then work toward treatments, according to Morel. 

"We try to offer a more global approach to health as opposed to the standard practice of a doctor in an office where we address a specific problem," said Morel. 

The new building for Minnie's Hope was made possible through a donation of $3 million from BMO Financial Group and $2 million from the Hewitt Foundation.

Robbie Kawapit, chief of Whapmagoostui, is happy to see such services for children, especially those with special needs. 

"Back then services were not available like this in Whapmagoostui and now these services are available," said Kawapit. "Children do not need to be sent down south for medical attention."

"Buildings like this did not exist in my time, and if it was, I would have been very happy."

You can listen to Cree language interviews with Minnie's Hope president Louisa Wynne here, Whapmagoostui Chief Robbie Kawapit here, and Dr. Johanne Morel here.