Groupe D'entraide L'Éveil

What Groupe D'entraide L'Éveil does

Groupe d'entraide L'Éveil is a Quebec-based nonprofit mutual aid organization founded in 1994 in Lac-Etchemin that supports people living with mental illness and individuals with social-integration difficulties. Its core model combines social programming — community meals, educational and social outings, summer camping — with structured vocational integration delivered through four wholly operated micro-enterprises: La Petite Menuiserie (woodworking toys and crafts), L'Éveil des senteurs (handmade goat-milk soap, lotions, bath products), Le Bouton d'or (sewing of textile accessories and home goods), and La Maison Jaune (retail boutique). Each workshop is led by a specialized educator or craftsperson who supervises worker-artisans and delivers individualized follow-up, workplace accompaniment, training, and job-search assistance through the SDME employment-integration service.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform; its infrastructure is operational (workshop equipment, retail fixtures, a website at lesateliersdeleveil.com, and a Facebook page). Revenue is generated through one-time retail sales of handcrafted goods across its own boutique, 18+ independent retail points of sale throughout Quebec, and the annual Salon des Artisans de Québec trade show at the Centre des foires de Québec. Employment integration services are provided free to participants and are funded through government and community partnerships, including a ~$30,000 CAD Bell Cause pour la cause grant in 2013.

The customer base is diffuse — individual retail consumers purchasing artisan goods — with no enterprise anchor accounts. Leadership consists of Director General Pierrot Pouliot and a volunteer board (Gaétan Turmel, president; Jules Bilodeau, vice-president; Hélène Nadeau, secretary-treasurer; administrators Evelyn Turgeon and Gaétan Poirier). The organization is privately held, non-listed, and has no parent company or institutional investors.

Name

Groupe D'entraide L'Éveil

Legal name

Groupe d'entraide L'Éveil

Website

https://lesateliersdeleveil.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Groupe d'entraide L'Éveil is a nonprofit founded in 1994 in Lac-Etchemin, Quebec, that supports people living with mental illness through social activities and four craft-based micro-enterprises (woodworking, soap-making, sewing, and a retail boutique) plus employment-integration services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Mental Health Services

NAICS

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Development & Inclusive Employment (Job Training, Placement) (BPAGALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

Keywords

• Community mental health services
• Employment integration services
• Artisan micro-enterprises
• Vocational rehabilitation programs
• Social reintegration support

Headquarters

HQ city

Lac Etchemin

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Artisan Product Sales: L'Éveil operates micro-enterprises (woodworking, soap-making, sewing, boutique) that produce and sell handcrafted goods. Revenue is generated through retail sales at La Maison Jaune boutique, points of sale throughout Quebec, and at trade shows like the Salon des Artisans de Québec.
2. Employment Integration Services: The organization provides employment integration services (SDME) including individual follow-up, workplace support, training, and job search assistance for people with mental illness. Services are offered free to participants, likely funded through government and community partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Groupe d'entraide L'Éveil is a nonprofit mutual aid organization that delivers social and employment-integration services for people living with mental illness in the Etchemins region of Quebec. Its core offering combines a structured Service d'intégration en emploi en milieu d'entreprise (SDME) — individual follow-up, workplace accompaniment, training, and job-search help — with four craft micro-enterprises (woodworking, soap-making, sewing, and a retail boutique) where participants produce and sell handcrafted goods. The micro-enterprises function as vocational training platforms that generate retail revenue while supporting participants' skill development and social participation.

Product overview

Groupe d'entraide L'Éveil operates a portfolio of four micro-enterprises that serve as vocational integration programs for people living with mental illness. The organization offers woodworking (La Petite Menuiserie), soap making (L'Éveil des senteurs), sewing (Le Bouton d'or), and a retail boutique (La Maison Jaune). These social enterprises provide meaningful work that develops participants' personal and professional skills while producing handcrafted products for sale. The organization also provides employment integration services including individual follow-up, support, workplace accompaniment, training, and job search assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• La Petite Menuiserie (Woodworking micro-enterprise)

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Maki Communications GraphiquesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWebsite development partner who created L'Éveil's new website (www.groupeleveil.com) launched in February 2014, in collaboration with Yannick Lévesque from the firm.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA): Canada's most established nationwide mental health nonprofit, delivering community-based programs and advocacy across all provinces. Comparable to L'Éveil in mission and beneficiary population, but operates at vastly larger national scale with broader service breadth.
• Clubhouse International: International network of accredited Clubhouses that provide employment, education, and social opportunities for people with mental illness. Highly comparable in operating model (workplace-based community + employment focus), but operates a global franchise network versus L'Éveil's single-site approach.

Direct peers

• Les Impatients: Montreal-based nonprofit that supports people with mental illness through visual arts creation, exhibition, and sales. Directly comparable to L'Éveil as a Quebec mental-health social-enterprise producing and selling handmade goods made by beneficiaries.
• Workman Arts: Toronto-based nonprofit that uses the arts as a vehicle for recovery and social/employment integration of people with mental illness. Closely comparable mission of combining creative production with mental health employment outcomes, though operating in Ontario.
• AMI-Quebec (Action on Mental Illness): Montreal-based nonprofit supporting people affected by mental illness through support groups, education, and community programs. Directly comparable as a Quebec-focused mental health mutual-aid organization serving a similar beneficiary population.

Others

• Réseau québécois de l'action communautaire autonome: Provincial network of autonomous community action organizations in Quebec, including those serving people with mental health challenges. Adjacent peer representing the broader Quebec community-nonprofit ecosystem in which L'Éveil operates.
• Le Collectif des entreprises d'insertion du Québec: Quebec network representing social insertion enterprises that combine workforce integration with commercial activity. Comparable as an ecosystem peer — L'Éveil's micro-enterprises follow a similar insertion-enterprise model and could be part of this collective's constituency.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Groupe-dentraide-L%C3%89veil/122596087797966

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Groupe D'entraide L'Éveil