Centre Philou, the story of a family

Centre Philou was founded in 2005 by Diane Chênevert and Sylvain Brosseau, parents of Philippe, their son born with cerebral palsy. In the first years of his life, Philippe was an extremely difficult child; he cried endlessly, and didn’t sleep day or night. Looking in vain for a resource that could help them catch their breath, Diane et Sylvain saw that there was a significant lack of services for parents living with a severely disabled child. They made it their mission to fill the void by offering respite to families.

Growing to better meet needs

Having started by offering some 250 x 24-hour respites per year to prevent parent distress and exhaustion for some twenty families, Centre Philou has grown and transformed over the years, and is today a benchmark for care and services provided to children and young people with multiple disabilities in Québec. With a team of 55 people composed of dedicated educators, specialized therapists and experienced program managers, Centre Philou provides specialized services to polyimpaired children and their families, in complement of public services:

- 2,800 respite stays of at least 24 hours

- a specialized school for 26 young adults

- a daycare for children with special needs

- continuous family support 

Deeply connected to its environment and community, the Centre offers dynamic, innovative programs that meet the crucial needs of families by making the children’s development, well-being and pleasure central to their activities.