Moelle épinière et motricité Québec, formerly the Quebec Paraplegic Association and the Foundation for Spinal Cord Research, is a non-profit organisation operating since 1946. Its mission is to promote self-sufficiency, independence and quality of life for people with disabilities. The organization intervenes to facilitate the social integration of people with spinal cord injury, to promote their rights and support research. It also aims at developing the employability of people with physical and neurological limitations.
Social integration
Our integration services meet the needs of people with spinal cord injuries from across Quebec by ensuring a continuous presence in the three main readaptation centres in the province: the IRDPQ, the IRGLM and the CRLB. We also have a presence throughout Quebec in other rehabilitation centers and in hospitals that are centers of expertise for SCI when our services are needed. MEMO-Que offers various services to enable patients help maximize their rehabilitation and social integration after a spinal cord injury, working in tandem with the readaptation centres throughout the patient’s readaptation process. In addition our integration counsellors, who are themselves living with a spinal cord injury, can be beneficial to our members as peers by sharing their experiences and achievements, giving support, guidance and information throughout their lives.
Employability
Our employment services are available to aid people with physical or neurological disabilities in their process to find employment or return to school. The primary objective of our counsellors is to help our members develop their autonomy, promote their social integration, and above all to help keep them employed.
Advocacy
MEMO-Que is responsible for educating the public, policymakers and employers on the condition of spinal cord injury and persons with disabilities. Our counselors can also assist individual members who feel their rights are not respected. Moreover, prevention of spinal cord injury is one of our major concerns.
Research Support
MEMO-Que also has the task of raising funds to support projects to enable it to meet challenges in three specific areas:
• curing spinal cord injuries
• Improving the quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries
• prevention of spinal cord injuries
