Welcome to Bonnie's Blog!

Hello, my name is Bonnie Montminy and I am the coordinator of Project HOPE at Vanier Children's Services. HOPE stands for Helping Other Parents Excel, and it is a program run for parents, by parents. We are a small but committed group of parents who have joined together to help other parents overcome the trials and tribulations of raising exceptional and challenging children. We help each other through parent-to-parent mentoring, information sharing, and advocacy.

I first became involved with Vanier over 15 years ago, when my son was enrolled in the Early Intervention Program. Diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and in spite of his many challenges, he made wonderful progress.

When the time came for him to be integrated into the regular school system, we realized that a difficult road was ahead. The support system we had come to rely on at Vanier was gradually receding into the background, and I was eager to find other parents who could help me figure out how to advocate for his special needs.

Those were difficult days for me and my family. The stresses -- emotional, financial, and psychological -- took their toll and it is no surprise that many families crack under the strain.

Fast forward to 2000 and the launch of Project HOPE. Over the years, I learned that parents had valuable expertise to share, and realized the importance of effective advocacy and parent-to-parent support, especially in these times of ever-diminishing services.

I jumped at the chance to be involved in a program that would let me share what I had learned with other parents and to join with them to advocate for better mental health, educational and social services for children.

My hope is that this blog will help parents find and exchange information, empower them to become effective advocates, and work together for improved children's mental health services.