{"id":4837,"date":"2023-10-23T11:33:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T16:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/?post_type=actualite&p=4837"},"modified":"2026-10-02T04:30:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T09:30:22","slug":"soigner-sans-juger-mathieu-lucie-catherine","status":"publish","type":"actualite","link":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/article\/soigner-sans-juger-mathieu-lucie-catherine\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathieu & Lucie-Catherine: A healthy person is a healthy community"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":4838,"template":"","actualite_type":[12],"actualite_sujet":[177],"action_combat":[],"mdm_pays":[],"class_list":["post-4837","actualite","type-actualite","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","actualite_type-campaigns","actualite_sujet-care-without-judgment"],"acf":{"mise_en_avant":false,"chapeau":"","cta_type":"aucun","cta_lien":"","contenu":"

\u201cIn our families, we always had our uncles, our aunts, our cousins who would tell us \u2018<\/em>at the hospital they <\/em>did this to me<\/em>,<\/em> that, <\/em>I was <\/em>in pain<\/em>, they <\/em>told me to <\/em>be <\/em>quiet<\/em>\u2019.<\/em> We all know these stories,\u201d Lucie-Catherine says softly. <\/p>\n

When the nurse, born to a white father and an Anishinaabe mother, utters these words, Mathieu nods in approval. He is an Indigenous navigator; his mother is from Mashteuiatsh, an Innu community in Lac-Saint-Jean. Both work for M\u00e9decins du Monde. <\/p>\n

The duo supports Indigenous persons experiencing homelessness to help them navigate Quebec\u2019s health system and overcome the systemic barriers that hinder their access to care. To do this, Lucie-Catherine and Mathieu draw on their common ground. \u201cBoth of us have a foot in each culture,\u201d the navigator explains. \u201cIt helps us see things through both lenses: the Indigenous paradigm and the white paradigm.\u201d <\/p>\n

This cultural background allows the nurse and the navigator to create a sense of community with their patients. It fosters a relationship of trust, which alone makes equitable and adapted access to care possible for a population that, over the course of history, has developed a deep mistrust of the health system. <\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

That\u2019s why, in Mathieu and Lucie-Catherine\u2019s view, their role goes far beyond the medical act. Going for pizza after a hospital treatment and taking the time to ask how it went; exchanging a few words on a street corner; greeting familiar faces they come across: \u201cThat\u2019s also part of care,\u201d Mathieu asserts. Sometimes, a simple presence is enough: \u201cJust being there. It makes all the difference.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same for the nurse. Lucie-Catherine smiles as she thinks of a patient: \u201cOften, she comes and doesn\u2019t speak. Then, at some point, she stands up and says: \u2018I just need a hug.\u2019 So I give her a hug, and she leaves, thanking me for being there.\u201d <\/p>\n

This vision of care contrasts sharply with the one that has taken hold in the West. On one hand, health is seen as a holistic approach that goes beyond the medical act alone. On the other, a \u2018problem\/solution mode\u2019 is favoured. Yet, \u201ccare isn\u2019t about that,\u201d Mathieu insists. As the navigator learned from his Elders, \u201cwhen you go to gather a plant to heal yourself, setting out to find it is part of the medicine; the way you pick the plant is part of the medicine; the way you drink it\u2026 all of that is part of care.\u201d <\/p>\n

Another \u201cbasic element of [their] culture\u201d that guides Lucie-Catherine and Mathieu is humour. \u201cLaughing is already a form of care,\u201d Mathieu explains. \u201cMy main intervention tool is laughing with people.\u201d An essential ingredient that, according to the nurse, \u201ccompletely eludes the Western conception of care.\u201d Yet, it\u2019s what allows them to \u201cmaintain the connection\u201d with their patients. Lucie-Catherine shares: \u201cWe run into them on the street, we chat with them. It\u2019s almost like family.\u201d Because, in the end, \u201ca healthy person is a healthy community.\u201d <\/p>\n

I support M\u00e9decins du Monde\u2019s actions<\/a><\/p>","temps_lecture":3,"legende_couverture":"","signature_nom":"","signature_role":"","signature_initiales":"","signature_avatar":"","communique_lien":"","communique_libelle":"","encadre_titre":"","encadre_texte":"","partenaires_titre":"","partenaires":null,"reseaux_partage":["facebook","twitter","linkedin","email","copy"],"evenement_date":null,"evenement_type":"","evenement_lieu":"","evenement_inscription":"","presse_afficher":false,"presse_surtitre":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite\/4837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/actualite"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite\/4837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4839,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite\/4837\/revisions\/4839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"actualite_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite_type?post=4837"},{"taxonomy":"actualite_sujet","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite_sujet?post=4837"},{"taxonomy":"action_combat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/action_combat?post=4837"},{"taxonomy":"mdm_pays","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mdm_pays?post=4837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}