Mon Shack was born from the mind of a woman deeply affected by the challenges of mental health. Indeed, when a loved one is suffering, we do everything in our power to alleviate their pain while trying not to sink into it ourselves. This is often easier said than done. That woman is me.
Over the years, it became clear that despite the efforts of various professionals (doctors, psychologists, rehabilitation centers, etc.), we were facing a lack of resources tailored to the needs of someone who wanted to be independent.
The idea took root during a conversation with a doctor. He informed me that many people faced this same situation and that there was a very specific need to address. He added, “Why not create a resource yourself? You’re capable! Take some time to think about it and get back to me.
– Josée Parent, founder and president
Mon Shack, located in the Eastern Townships, has for mission to promote, develop, acquire, build and operate properties with the goal of offering supervised residential units and a living environment to adults living with mental health issues.
Much more than affordable supervised apartments, Mon Shack is a bilingual living environment wich will offers to his tenants :
Recovery is not a synonym of “clinical recovery” or of a “remedy”. Recovery is a long process while living with mental health issues, no different than someone living with a chronic condition like diabetes or asthma.
According to Boardman1, three factors are essential to recovery :
Hope, personal responsibility, autonomy, taking charge of your life, well-being, education and peer support are just some of the factors for recovery. Other key factors that help overcome mental health are acceptance, taking charge of your life, self-determination, control of symptoms and the support of a psychiatrist.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of symptoms, but it could include having a job, an apartment, and maybe a pet and good friends.
Finally, to help recovery, we believe that we must have solidarity in the fight against prejudice and the stigmatization people with mental health issues are often victims of.
1 The participation to a community life is defined by a participation to general meetings and all democratic activities of the organization.
Because it refers to a particular place. Because a Shack in the woods is a peaceful place. It is built little by little, in our image, that we like, and in which we find a precious source of well-being.
Mon Shack will be the place where young people with mental health problems will be able to take time rebuilding themselves with professionnal support. They will be able to built their own Shack.
Mental health is an essential component of overall health and is defined as follows: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition implies an important corollary: mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities.
Mental health is a state of well-being in which a person can fulfill their potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community. In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation of an individual’s well-being and the proper functioning of a community.
As part of the implementation of the provisions provided by Law 25 of the Quebec government regarding the protection of personal information in the private sector, the person responsible for complaints, personal data protection, and data management policy within the organization is M. Marc-Antoine Lapointe (President of the Board of Directors). You can contact him in the following ways: