L’Antr’Aidant, a community organization created by a group of caregivers.
L’Antr’Aidant is an independent community caregiver organization founded in 2009. It obtained its charitable status in 2010. L’Antr’Aidant was set up by a group of caregivers committed to their community, who had already founded a social solidarity cooperative: the Coopérative de Solidarité, de Répit et d’Entraide (SORE) for caregivers in the Pays-d’en-haut region. Considering the diverse needs of caregivers of sick or vulnerable adults, or of seniors with physical and/or cognitive loss of autonomy, members of the cooperative got together to set up a specific organization to offer activities and services focused more on awareness-raising, listening to people’s needs, individual and group psychosocial support, information, training and personalized coaching. L’Antr’Aidant was born!
Meeting a community need
The foundation of a community organization lies in the willingness of individuals to mobilize together to meet a need in the collectivity. Without the synergy and strong sense of belonging provided by the concerted efforts of its members, an organization can certainly function and be relevant in the provision of services and activities, but it loses its community character.
According to the Ministry of Health and Social Services, community organizations are characterized by democratic management, a global vision of the individual, actions based on the autonomy of groups and individuals, the ability to innovate, having strong roots in the community, another way of envisioning service and a more egalitarian relationship between stakeholders and participants. (2010-2015 framework for the application of a program of support for community organizations (PSOC) in the Laurentian region) .
Since its creation, the organization has continued to expand within the community. L’Antr’Aidant currently offers all its regular activities in the Pays-d’en-haut, Rivière-du-Nord and Thérèse-de Blainville MRCs. It is also rolling out some of its activities (in-person and online) throughout the Laurentians. See Activities and Services tab. All individual, group and collective activities are constantly evaluated by caregivers and reviewed with a view to continuous improvement, in order to respond as closely as possible to the needs expressed by caregivers, the community and active members of the organization.
