For over three decades, Sherbrooke based group Bulle et Baluchon has served as the prevention centre for violence against children in the Eastern Townships. 

Through educational workshops, Bulle et Baluchon works with children between 4 and 12 years old to equip them with the knowledge and tools necessary to help them be less vulnerable to violence. They also do workshops with adults (parents, teachers, etc.) to raise awareness and to inform them about the different forms of violence children can face. 

The group has recently translated all of its programs and workshops in English, and they want to spread the word to the English-speaking community of Brome-Missisquoi that may be seeking its services. 

“We mainly go to schools to empower and equip children on what to do in the face of different types of violence. Our mandate is really in prevention, so we want to equip them with the tools and solutions they can use to stay safe,” said Rebecca Struss, counsellor and facilitator for Bule et Baluchon. 

As a one of kind centre, Bulle et Baluchon was originally Éspace Estrie before becoming Bulle et Baluchon in 2006. Jade McMahon Hodebert, counsellor and facilitator for the centre, explained that every territory has a prevention centre for violence against children.

“I think that’s why we are the only ones to have that mission of prevention in the Eastern Townships because we were Éspace before and then we became Bulle et Baluchon, but we kept the same mandate,” she noted. 

Struss said that the centre does not work in intervention, differentiating it from prevention. 

“We won’t have clients come to our offices; everything is more strictly workshop based. From time to time, we will have people contact us and we are happy to provide referrals, provide information, support, and answer questions, but we don’t normally intervene in a family situation,” she highlighted. 

Bulle et Baluchon coordinates different workshops for both children and adults, whether that be a parent, teacher, or support staff at a school. 

“We have different programs covering different topics relating to violence. Our most popular one is called “All Forms of Violence.” We speak about different types of violence with them (children). It can be either physical, verbal, sexual, bullying,” mentioned McMahon Hodebert. 

There are also workshops on more specific topics, such as cyber-bullying, bullying, and early sexualization. 

“During those workshops we can cover subjects like recognizing emotions, asserting themselves, give them solutions. (…) It can vary from a 45 minute workshop to an hour or two,” added McMahon Hodebert. 

For adults, the workshops are really about equipping them with the knowledge to help protect children from experiencing violence.

“How to have their children becomes less vulnerable to different types of violence whether it’s at home, at school, or elsewhere, even online. It’s really from a prevention perspective on everything they can do to make sure the children in their lives are safe,” noted Struss. 

The goal is to reach as many people as possible, to try to get the message out there, and teach everyone, whether children or adults, about the different types of violence, said Struss. 

“In the adult workshops, we are always mentioning that prevention of violence is a legal, but also a social responsibility. Even if we’re not involved or we don’t know someone that directly experiences violence, we could be bystanders or we could see something like this. We are all concerned when that topic comes up,” added McMahon Hodebert.

As of this year, Bulle et Baluchon has translated all of it’s programs in English and it is just starting to spread the word in the English-speaking community. 

“That’s why we are really reaching out. We are getting the word out that Bulle et Baluchon is now offering workshops in English as well for both adults and children,” emphasized McMahon Hodebert.

For more information on Bulle et Baluchon or to access its services. 

Listen to the full interview below: