To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Maison des jeunes (MDJ) of Thetford Mines held a special evening entitled “L’Ultime Freak show”. The activity, which took place on August 23 at the convention centre, was organized in the form of a carnival cabaret inspired by the 1940s. Approximately 140 people came to attend this unique event.
The organization’s management had entrusted the organization of this party to the firm PPS Canada, specialized in events. A mini-village had been created inside the center with different thematic stations, where professional actors provided animation and entertainment.
“We gave them carte blanche and they came up with this freak show theme. People really came away with a wow effect, wondering what they had just experienced! It was very immersive, you really felt like you were in another world. It’s been a few weeks now and we’re still hearing about it. Everyone had a great time,” said the general director of the Maison des jeunes, Karol-Ann Champagne.
The station of actress Carmen Sylvestre was in some ways the time-line cabin of the Youth House. Participants were invited to leave a note there to say what the place had brought them or to make a wish for it. “They gave them to us at the end of the evening. We will keep them and be able to take them out eventually to remind ourselves of what people had wished for us or what memories they had. We read some saying that the Youth House had given them the desire to become an intervener, allowed them to create their group of friends and there was even one who mentioned that it had saved him as a teenager. It’s great to see what impact this place had on the lives of the people who were there,” stressed Ms. Champagne.
It should be noted that the invitation to participate in this evening was extended to the entire population, as well as to community partners and political figures in the region.
40 YEARS OF SUPPORTING TEENS
In 1983, an initiative called the Centre jeunesse 14-17 was put forward in the basement of the parish centre on Notre-Dame Street. A year later, in 1984, a youth centre was created. It was then located on the grounds of the park, at the corner of Ste-Marthe and Laval streets. It had received a $6,000 grant as part of a Young Volunteers project. The goal was to allow teenagers aged 14 to 18 from the parish and surrounding area to meet, have fun and build a leisure program to their liking.
Today, the organization welcomes 12 to 17 year olds. The average age of those who attend is around 13. Over the years, the mission of youth centres has also changed. It is no longer just a place where teenagers come to have fun and socialize. The workers, mostly specialized educators, now offer all kinds of support.
“If the young person is going through something, our counsellors are trained to guide them. We don’t only receive adolescents who have had difficult lives. Yes, there are some who have had a more difficult journey, but there are also some for whom everything is going well in their family and at school, but who may, for example, be experiencing their first heartbreak without knowing who to talk to in their entourage. The counsellors are there to listen to them,” said Karol-Ann Champagne.
The MDJ team works in partnership with other community organizations in the area. Its overall mission covers all issues, but sometimes young people can be referred to other, more specialized resources if their problem requires it. “We are on the front lines to support them and help them resolve the problem, but also to advise them on the right resource,” said the executive director, adding that the issues affecting young people have changed a lot in 40 years.
The youth centre is open every day from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at the Thetford Mines service point (534, rue Ste-Marthe) and Mondays and Wednesdays at the Black Lake service point (4350, rue St-Jean). The team currently has seven people, including the general director, the assistant director and the workers.
