Concerned about the lack of concrete strategies to ensure the emotional and relational well-being of students and teachers as they return to school

Experts in education and mental health come together to run a research laboratory to help children, their parents and school personnel prevent the mental health impacts of a pandemic

MONTREAL, May 7, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - On the eve of the back to school for elementary school students, a group of experts in education and mental health was created to develop a toolkit for school personnel and parents to better support young people in their emotional and relational needs in the context of the pandemic, in schools and school daycare services. Led by the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation in collaboration with the Comité québécois pour les jeunes en difficulté de comportement (CQJDC), the group will focus on the importance of healthy relationships in a context of isolation and social distancing.

"The data from our latest survey has prompted a response from the scientific community and communities of practice," said the Foundation's founding president, Jasmin Roy. We decided to join forces and create a group of experts who will work together to develop reference tools that can be used during a public health crisis. I am particularly moved to see that leading experts want to help us meet this challenge, which could become more than a consequence of COVID-19, even a psychological pandemic."

The group will develop positive intervention strategies related to public health measures. Strategies concerning emotional regulation, anxiety, stress and anguish will play an important role in promoting youth resilience. Prior to the back to school announcement made by the government Legault, the CROP-Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation survey revealed that 67% of parents and 46% of their children said they were anxious about going back to school.

The objectives pursued by the group are based on a desire to intervene with preschool, primary and high school students in order to identify young people in vulnerable situations, through non-verbal communication among other means. A study on the impact of the toolkit in the short, medium and long term in relation to the guidelines advocated by public health in school settings will also be conducted.

Under the leadership of the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation, the group will count among its experts:

• Members of the Comité québécois pour les jeunes en difficulté de comportement (CQJDC):
• Julie Beaulieu, Professor in the Department of academic and social adaptation at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (Lévis Campus) and president of the CQJDC.
• Caroline Couture, Professor in the Department of psychoeducation at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
• Claire Baudry, Associate professor in the Department of psychoeducation at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
• Nancy Gaudreau, Associate professor in the Department of psychoeducation at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
• Évelyne Touchette, Associate professor in the Department of psychoeducation at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
• Line Massé, Associate professor in the Department of psychoeducation at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
• Camil Sanfaçon, Creator of the Programme d'animation et de formation pour les enseignants (PAFE) and former president of the CQJDC.
• Isabelle Archambault, holder of the Chaire du Canada sur l'école, le bien-être et la réussite éducative des enfants, co-holder of the Chaire McConnell-UdeM en mobilisation des connaissances jeunesse and professor at the École de psychoéducation of the Université de Montréal, and researcher at the Institut universitaire Jeunes en difficulté of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
• Véronique Dupéré, holder of the Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la transition à l'âge adulte, co-holder of the Chaire McConnell-UdM en mobilisation des connaissances jeunesse, and professor at the École de psychoéducation of the Université de Montréal. Researcher at the Institut de recherche en santé publique of the Université de Montréal and at the Institut universitaire Jeunes en difficulté of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
• Julie Lane, Professor specialized in knowledge transfer and implementation of evidence-based programs at the Department of studies on academic and social adaptation at the Université de Sherbrooke, and Director of the Centre RBC d'expertise universitaire en santé mentale.
• Pierrich Plusquellec, Director of the Centre d'études en sciences de la communication non verbale and professor at the École de psychoéducation of the Université de Montréal.
• Kristel Tardif-Grenier, Professor at the Department of psychoeducation and psychology at the Université du Québec en Outaouais and researcher at the Institut universitaire Jeunes en difficulté of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
• Catherine Raymond, Doctoral student whose research focuses on the impact of exposure to an adverse environment during childhood on the physiological stress system as well as on cognitive functions in adulthood at the Université de Montréal.
• Vincent Domon-Archambault, psychologist at the Programme Jeunesse of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
• Josée Lavigueur, physical educator and speaker.

Booklets, drawings and videos will be available on the group of experts' respective websites in preparation for September back-to-school, including a physical activity program related to resilience strategies. The CQJDC will also be offering training to ensure the successful implementation of the toolbox in communities that request it as early as August. 

"We want to break the feeling of loneliness created during the pandemic through mutual aid, listening, support, empathy and trust with young people, school counsellors and parents," said Julie Beaulieu, President of the CQJDC.

The commitment of all participants in the group is voluntary. The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation relies on donations from generous donors to fund this initiative. It is possible to make a contribution on the Foundation's website.

About the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation
Found in 2010, the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation is both a charitable and a community-based organization whose mission is to create positive and caring environments in keeping with the goals (SDG) set by the United Nations. The Foundation's team has the mandate to raise awareness, educate, support and contribute to finding lasting solutions to the problems of violence, discrimination and bullying in all living environments, whether it be educational settings, workplaces or all environments in which our seniors live. The implementation of healthy emotional and relational lifestyles is at the heart of its approach, which aims to promote inclusion and prevent mental health problems, both in Canada and around the world. Jasmin Roy and Sophie Desmarais, the Foundation's godmother, are now registered with the United Nations as ECOSOC civil society representatives.

About the Comité québécois pour les jeunes en difficulté de comportement (CQJDC)
Founded in 1994, the CQJDC is a charity and community-based organization whose goal is to promote the well-being of young people experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and to advance the quality of educational services available to them. To fulfill its mission, the CQJDC has the following objectives: (1) to inform, sensitize and equip employees who work with young people experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties; (2) to support actions to help these young people better adapt to their social and school life; (3) to promote research and encourage the transfer of cutting-edge knowledge, particularly concerning effective practices for these young people; (4) promote exchanges and collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the school, health and social services sectors; (5) take action with the authorities concerned to defend the quality of the educational services to which these young people are entitled and promote their development. To learn more about the CQJDC: www.cqjdc.org.

SOURCE Fondation Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais

Raphaël Rochette, [email protected], [phone]; Valéry Chartrand, [email protected], [phone]