Stories that inspire
La Maison Kekpart
La Maison Kekpart in Longueuil was founded more than 40 years ago (Kekpart is an informal spelling of “quelque part”, meaning “somewhere”). Formerly known as Action Jeunesse St-Pie X De Longueuil Inc., Maison Kekpart assists children and youth aged from 6 to 17 through an approach that focuses on creating projects. Intervenors explore the talents, dreams, ideas and passions of the young people they work with and collaborate with them on developing projects that reflect who they are, so as to be able to really reach out to them. Each week, more than 300 young people participate in the organization’s programs, and every year more than 6,000 youths benefit from listening services, accompaniment and support provided by professionals.
In Longueuil, where the needs are glaring, the demand for help is strong and the challenges are many, the coronavirus pandemic hit young people especially hard and made tough issues even tougher to manage, for example kids dropping out of school, social exclusion, substance abuse or violence. Supported at the start of the pandemic by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) via the Foundation of Greater Montréal, Maison Kekpart was able to maintain its activities, in particular those aimed at children ages 6 to 12 from disadvantaged backgrounds. The “Mini-Kekpart” initiative offered them a wide range of pursuits virtually (DIY/handiwork, cooking, science, reading, writing etc.), in partnership with the Le Carillon elementary school.
On top of the creative and athletic activities Maison Kekpart offers under normal circumstances, it has started a new service: emergency food assistance for families of children the organization works with.