Sébastien Boudreault Says Lauberivière Helped His Father Rebuild His Life

Sébastien Boudreault remembers being only six or seven when his father, Michel, began losing his footing. His parents separated amid Michel’s struggles with alcohol, and the decline that followed affected the entire family, Boudreault recalls. His father lost his car, home and job, and eventually stopped eating properly. The separation also meant the family no longer received child support. But for Boudreault, the deepest pain was missing his father. He says they began seeing Michel again when he entered treatment at Lauberivière, a Québec City shelter and support centre. After roughly two years of instability, Boudreault remembers, his father was beginning to regain his bearings. As a child, he did not fully understand the world of homelessness around him. He recalls enjoying visits to Lauberivière because he could spend time with his father, find food and feel welcome. Looking back, he says the children were included in Michel’s recovery in ways they did not recognize at the time. A former worker, Éric Boulay, understood that Michel’s relationship with his children mattered, Boudreault says, and the family sometimes stayed overnight during weekends. After completing treatment, Michel began volunteering with other people at the shelter. He also took part in reintegration work and sobriety support. Boudreault says his father rebuilt his life and never returned to construction work, even though it could have paid better. Now 74, Michel still goes to Lauberivière every day, according to his son. Boudreault says his father also sought out people experiencing homelessness near the Mail Saint-Roch. Leaving the centre could take a long time because Michel stopped to talk with everyone, he recalls. His father had become so familiar to people there that Boudreault often heard kind words about him. For the son, seeing Michel recover—and become a source of support for others—remains a powerful example of the refuge’s impact on a family.