Who are we ?
Our mission and history
Our mission
The Générations family violence prevention centre is the non-profit parent organization of the Tel-jeunes and LigneParents services. Since 1981, Générations has pursued a critical goal: to develop and provide high-quality social support services and workshops for youth and parents throughout Québec.
History of Générations
Longueuil, February 1981
A few mothers began meeting one evening a week to offer each other support and comfort in their parenting activities. Marilyn, a young mother of three children, led the meetings. Lucie, Huguette, Lise, Johanne and Francine were faithful members of the group. In their own way, these women felt as though they were losing self-control when dealing with their children; first shouting, threats and sometimes even physical violence, inevitably followed by guilt and regret. Their fear of judgement was painfully strong, and so the meetings took place under the veil of anonymity. Let's not forget, this was the early 1980s and the Youth Protection Act had only just been passed. These mothers were worried that the authorities might take their children away from them.
Québec’s first parental support group was inspired by the organization Parents Anonymous, founded in California in the early 1970s. There, with assistance from a social worker, parents known by social services for mistreating their children initiated spontaneous meetings to help each other. In a safe environment, far from the judgemental eye of society, they relearned how to be parents and to control impulses that sometimes made them do things they would later regret. Between meetings, these parents could call each other if need be and, over time, they built a network of daily support. Looking back, we can see that they were laying the foundations for empowerment, a concept based on the potential of individuals to join forces and to put an end to isolation through a support network.
Taking a cue from this model, and with the arrivals of coordinator Jocelyn Paiement and, shortly after, of Céline Muloin, in the role of help line supervisor, Parents anonymes Rive Sud (which became Parents anonymes du Québec in 1984) was born. Support groups like the one in Longueuil were set up in cities across Québec. As these groups multiplied, a toll-free help line was introduced so that parents could receive support during difficult moments, or so that they could be connected with a local support group.
At the end of the 1980s, more than 35 groups had sprung up around Québec. The encouragement of a spokesperson like Claude Meunier, who promoted the service through frank discussions about daily life, seemed to be a determining factor in this phenomenal growth. Everyone remembers the comedian’s famous line in a television ad: “Instead of picking on your children, pick up your telephone…”
Professionals have always played an important role in the approach of Québec’s parent support group, which was later renamed Parentraide to distinguish it from the Parents anonymes hotline. Along with parents who are selected as group leaders, these professional host the meetings. Called "resource people," they facilitate and stimulate parental support, rather than leading the meetings. Their role is to ensure that everyone is supported, listened to and respected throughout the meeting. An impressive number of professionals from all over Québec became personally and voluntarily involved with these groups throughout the 1990s.
March 5, 1991
Strong from its 10 years of experience, the organization created a new service: Tel-jeunes. This service transferred to youth support the knowledge that had been acquired in supporting parents. Tel-jeunes offers a toll-free telephone service, accessible anywhere in Québec, which puts young people from 5 to 20 years of age in contact with a professional who can help them resolve problems or issues that concern their age group. The actress Marina Orsini participated in the launch of the service and, from that day on, she has been the Tel-jeunes spokesperson. This service has developed at a rapid pace and has also quickly become a vital resource for young people in Québec.
After the creation of the Tel-jeunes service, Parents anonymes changed its name again and became Générations, a centre for the prevention of family violence. In order to respond even more effectively to its mission of prevention, Générations encompasses the new service for youth and the old service for parents, which later became LigneParents.
Tel-jeunes quickly recognized the desire of some young people to help their peers and implemented the program Aider c’est branché! to better assist these youth in their support process.
February 1, 2001
Tel-jeunes launched its Web site, www.teljeunes.com which, in addition to being a plentiful source of information, includes an innovative support section. Young people can ask a question via the Internet and receive a personalized and confidential response from a professional in the field. This was the first free and professional support service available via the Web for all young people in Québec. Since its creation, this site has served as a development tool for Tel-jeunes.
A few words on past funding
Since the early 1980s, the organization has sought out private sources of funding so as to increase its autonomy and balance its budget. Major efforts and consciousness-raising ventures have convinced many business partners, foundations and donors to contribute to the development of our services and programs. Fundraising activities, in particular the famous Lunch aux homards de Générations, have ensured the longevity of the organization over the past 25 years. Today, out of a total budget of more than $2 million, 30% comes from the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, and 70% comes from donations and fundraising activities.
A few mothers began meeting one evening a week to offer each other support and comfort in their parenting activities. Marilyn, a young mother of three children, led the meetings. Lucie, Huguette, Lise, Johanne and Francine were faithful members of the group. In their own way, these women felt as though they were losing self-control when dealing with their children; first shouting, threats and sometimes even physical violence, inevitably followed by guilt and regret. Their fear of judgement was painfully strong, and so the meetings took place under the veil of anonymity. Let's not forget, this was the early 1980s and the Youth Protection Act had only just been passed. These mothers were worried that the authorities might take their children away from them.
Québec’s first parental support group was inspired by the organization Parents Anonymous, founded in California in the early 1970s. There, with assistance from a social worker, parents known by social services for mistreating their children initiated spontaneous meetings to help each other. In a safe environment, far from the judgemental eye of society, they relearned how to be parents and to control impulses that sometimes made them do things they would later regret. Between meetings, these parents could call each other if need be and, over time, they built a network of daily support. Looking back, we can see that they were laying the foundations for empowerment, a concept based on the potential of individuals to join forces and to put an end to isolation through a support network.
Taking a cue from this model, and with the arrivals of coordinator Jocelyn Paiement and, shortly after, of Céline Muloin, in the role of help line supervisor, Parents anonymes Rive Sud (which became Parents anonymes du Québec in 1984) was born. Support groups like the one in Longueuil were set up in cities across Québec. As these groups multiplied, a toll-free help line was introduced so that parents could receive support during difficult moments, or so that they could be connected with a local support group.
At the end of the 1980s, more than 35 groups had sprung up around Québec. The encouragement of a spokesperson like Claude Meunier, who promoted the service through frank discussions about daily life, seemed to be a determining factor in this phenomenal growth. Everyone remembers the comedian’s famous line in a television ad: “Instead of picking on your children, pick up your telephone…”
Professionals have always played an important role in the approach of Québec’s parent support group, which was later renamed Parentraide to distinguish it from the Parents anonymes hotline. Along with parents who are selected as group leaders, these professional host the meetings. Called "resource people," they facilitate and stimulate parental support, rather than leading the meetings. Their role is to ensure that everyone is supported, listened to and respected throughout the meeting. An impressive number of professionals from all over Québec became personally and voluntarily involved with these groups throughout the 1990s.
March 5, 1991
Strong from its 10 years of experience, the organization created a new service: Tel-jeunes. This service transferred to youth support the knowledge that had been acquired in supporting parents. Tel-jeunes offers a toll-free telephone service, accessible anywhere in Québec, which puts young people from 5 to 20 years of age in contact with a professional who can help them resolve problems or issues that concern their age group. The actress Marina Orsini participated in the launch of the service and, from that day on, she has been the Tel-jeunes spokesperson. This service has developed at a rapid pace and has also quickly become a vital resource for young people in Québec.
After the creation of the Tel-jeunes service, Parents anonymes changed its name again and became Générations, a centre for the prevention of family violence. In order to respond even more effectively to its mission of prevention, Générations encompasses the new service for youth and the old service for parents, which later became LigneParents.
Tel-jeunes quickly recognized the desire of some young people to help their peers and implemented the program Aider c’est branché! to better assist these youth in their support process.
February 1, 2001
Tel-jeunes launched its Web site, www.teljeunes.com which, in addition to being a plentiful source of information, includes an innovative support section. Young people can ask a question via the Internet and receive a personalized and confidential response from a professional in the field. This was the first free and professional support service available via the Web for all young people in Québec. Since its creation, this site has served as a development tool for Tel-jeunes.
A few words on past funding
Since the early 1980s, the organization has sought out private sources of funding so as to increase its autonomy and balance its budget. Major efforts and consciousness-raising ventures have convinced many business partners, foundations and donors to contribute to the development of our services and programs. Fundraising activities, in particular the famous Lunch aux homards de Générations, have ensured the longevity of the organization over the past 25 years. Today, out of a total budget of more than $2 million, 30% comes from the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, and 70% comes from donations and fundraising activities.