Sister Louise Bellavance CM CQ (born 1943)[1] is a Québécoise social worker particularly known for her service to disadvantaged people with hearing disabilities.[2] She is a nun of the Sisters of Charity of Quebec.[3]
Louise Bellavance | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943 (age 80–81) |
| Education | Masters of social work |
| Alma mater | Université Laval |
Biography
editSister Louise Bellavance was responsible for living units at the Mont-d'Youville Visitor Centre in Quebec City and the Mgr Courchesne Institute in Rimouski from 1963 to 1974. She then began as a psychosocial worker for the Social Services Centre of Quebec, working with children and deaf adults. Bellavance graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke with a bachelor's degree in social work in 1979.[1]
In 1979 Bellavance helped found the Charlesbourg Institute of the Deaf and also Handi A (now Centre Signes d'Espoir), the only community centre in Quebec for deaf adults with disabilities. In 1986 she founded Auberge des Sourds, a home for deaf people with multiple disabilities.[1] These organizations seek to impart life skills and help people integrate into their communities,[2] understanding the isolation and rejection experienced due to communication difficulties.[4] She helped found the Regional Interpretation Service of Eastern Quebec in 1988 and a second home for deaf people in 2002. To help fund these projects she wrote the book Des gestes pour le dire (1995) and helped set up the Signes d'Espoir Foundation.[1]
In 1991 Bellavance completed a master's degree in social work from Université Laval. She is chair of the board of directors of Handi A and was vice-chair of the board of directors of the Foundation of the Deaf of Quebec.[1]
Bellavance was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2000[2] and a Chevalière of the Ordre national du Québec in 2005.[1]
Publications
edit- Des gestes pour le dire (in French). Éditions Anne Sigier. 1995.
Honours
edit- 1996 – Médaille Georges-Henri-Lévesque, Université Laval[1]
- 2000 – Member of the Order of Canada[2]
- 2000 – Merite Centraide, Centraide Quebec[1]
- 2002 – Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal[5]
- 2005 – Chevalière of the Ordre national du Québec[1]
- 2005 – Médaille Gloire de l'Escolle, Université Laval[1]
- 2010 – Member of the Académie des Grands Québécois, Quebec City Chamber of Commerce[6]
See also
edit- Quebec Sign Language (LSQ)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Louise Bellavance – Chevalière (2005)" [Louise Bellavance – Knight (2005)] (in French). Government of Quebec. 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Louise Bellavance, C.M., C.Q., m.s.s., s.c.q." (in French). Governor General of Canada. 2000. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Lemieux, Louis-Guy (2006). Grandes familles du Québec (in French). Les éditions du Septentrion. p. 48. ISBN 9782894484838. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Qui sommes-nous? Historique" [Who are we? Historical] (in French). Signes d'espoir. 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Bellavance, Révérende Soeur Louise, C.M., m.s.s., s.c.q." Governor General of Canada. 2002. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Champagne, Pierre (28 January 2010). "Grands Québécois" [Great Quebecers]. Le Soleil (in French). Quebec: Capital Media. Retrieved 27 November 2017.