Unique boutique

>> New work reintegration program lifts spirits in Verdun

by NAOMI BLOCH

Friendly banter and sales pitches fill the Verdun shop as Christmas shoppers admire the handpainted flowerpots, woodcrafts and other assorted gift items, but eyes are oddly averted as I enter the shop. The sales clerks at Boutique Uniquement Votre know that a reporter is showing up, and they have no interest in being burned by the media again. "We've had bad coverage in the past in a local paper," says the store's manager, Mireille Valois, a Masters student in Université de Montréal's social work program. "The people we work with were hurt by what was written. They felt stigmatized."

The boutique opened in September and is owned by the Douglas Hospital. It's part of the hospital's rehabilitation service offered to people who've had problems with mental illness. Slip out the back door of the store, and you'll find yourself in an impressive Santa's workshop--with a variety of artisan's workshops, a packing centre and a social club. All of the store's products are one-of-a-kind crafts created by program participants.

"Some of the workshops used to be in St-Henri in an industrial area," explains Amparo Garcia, clinical chief of rehabilitation. "We moved here to be more integrated in the community. We added the woodshop, the ceramics workshop and the dried flower workshop to the centre. We now have four teachers working here. They have a computer lab and they give all kinds of courses."

The focus of the new program structure is back-to-work integration, designed to increase self-esteem and develop skills. Over 20 of the participants are paid for their work. "We received a lot of positions, called 'social reinsertion positions' from Emploi Québec," says Garcia. "The people who work at reception, some of the people who do the cleaning during the day, some who work in the workshops, some who work in the club, some who work in the lab--we have around 21-23 clients who have filled those positions." Most of the jobs are part-time, 15-17 hours a week. Three full-time placements, paid through wage subsidies from Emploi Québec, were also created--including Valois' role as boutique manager, which will eventually go to one of the sales clerks.

The boutique's products have been a big success in Verdun. Patrons can custom order variations on items, asking for a specific pattern to be painted on a pot, or a different stain on a handcarved wooden jewellery box. And the community is taking advantage of the talents available. "A community association here in Verdun asked us to build special cat shelters, because there are a lot of homeless cats in Verdun who need shelter during the winter," Garcia explains. "So we built the shelters in the wood workshop. We have different projects and we're working more and more with community organizations."

Currently, what little profit is made at the boutique after material costs goes back into the program, but does not cover wages for the boutique's staff. They are beginning to look at creating a co-op or partnership with the Douglas Hospital and other community businesses, to create sustainable staff positions.

The newly expanded program involves many more people and many more services, requiring more than a little ingenuity. "This was done with exactly the same budget as we had in previous years," says Garcia. "There's no new money."

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