2024 – Civic Sponsorship Montreal

Their table companion’s loneliness unsettled them. His vulnerability, too.

David Dumaresq and Vanessa Gohier were having a romantic brunch at a restaurant when the young man with an intellectual disability started talking to them. “He was so charming,” recalls the young professional who works in architecture.

The young man left without paying. The couple from Laval offered to pay the waitress’s bill. Their outburst of generosity could have stopped there.

The scene affected the couple so much that they decided to ‘sponsor’ an adult with an intellectual disability.

“That was the trigger, but we already had that sensitivity,” Vanessa says. “I had a friend with Down syndrome in elementary school, and David has a cousin who is autistic.”

In their mid-20s, the couple had few responsibilities—they still lived with Vanessa’s parents—and plenty of free time. David and Vanessa became godparents to Bruno, a Montrealer in his early 30s who lives with an intellectual disability.

Five years, one house, two demanding jobs and a baby later, there are still young professionals in Bruno’s life.

There is no question of them breaking their promises despite their busy schedules.

“We live in a world that moves so fast,” says the mother. “Bruno brings us back to the essence; he reminds us that happiness is in simple things, in shared moments.”

“His good mood is infectious,” David adds.

Volunteers wanted

The organization Parrainage civique Montréal, which has existed since 1979, now has an “urgent need” for new volunteers.

The mission is to support the social integration of adults with intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorders. Some 120 adults are linked to volunteers in the metropolis.

But demand exceeds supply. By a multiple. About fifty others are waiting to be matched. Some for five years.

There would be more if the organization had not made the “difficult decision” to close its waitlist in November 2022; a list that has just reopened. Due to lack of resources, the organization does not have a full-time volunteer recruiter.

The goal is to develop a relationship of friendship between the godchild and the godfather or godmother. “We are not in the logic of helping or taking charge,” explains general director Christina Charron-St-Pierre. “We are in an egalitarian relationship that benefits both.”

The challenge is the ‘long-term commitment’ of volunteers, M. explains.^me Charron-St-Pierre. The organization requires a commitment of at least one year with the godchild.

“People are overwhelmed, working a lot. They feel less challenged because of this,” she continues.

However, the volunteers experience the relationship with each other as so valuable that they no longer feel like they are doing volunteer work, according to the organization’s director.

Without detracting from, for example, the distribution of Christmas parcels, we are talking about something ‘deeper’, ‘more authentic’, she illustrates.

Volunteers have been with the organization for 15, 20, even 30 years. “It’s good for the soul” to be with people who aren’t neurotypical, says M.^me Charron-St.-Pierre.

The profile of the godchildren is varied. Some have minor disabilities, others more serious. They can be relatively autonomous because they can fall under the responsibility of the state (guardianship or public curatorship). However, most live in a certain poverty and a very limited social network. The twins are carefully carried out according to the interests and limitations of each, says M.^me Charron-St.-Pierre.

David and Vanessa share how lucky they are to have Bruno as a godchild, hoping to inspire others to join them in their efforts.

Give the example

The trio does activities every month. Each activity starts with “a good cup of coffee,” describes Bruno, who quickly and proudly tells us that he also “works.” The thirty-year-old is an assistant janitor in a building in the Rosemont neighborhood.

Together they went bowling – “I’m the best,” Bruno interrupts –, attended a Laval Rocket game and went camping, among other things.

Very spontaneously, Bruno announces that if he wins the lottery jackpot, he will of course take his godfather’s and godmother’s family with him “to Mexico” in addition to his own family.

Bruno lives with his parents and his brother Victor, who is also mentally disabled. Maria and Manuel Fernandez are grateful for the arrival of Vanessa and David in their son’s life. It gives them well-deserved moments of respite.

The proof: the couple is now invited to family parties at the Fernandezes. Just like the couple that Victor sponsors through the same organization. When the photographer of The press At the end of June, the three families celebrated St. John’s Day together with Portuguese sardines, Maria’s culinary specialty.

“For us, it is important that our daughter, Tessa, is exposed to differences and that she develops a certain sensitivity,” Vanessa adds. Besides the differences, the 2-year-old is always happy to see Bruno, who does not need to be asked twice to play with her.

“It would be our dream that she would one day become a godmother,” says the young mother. The path is set.