By Matthew Daldalian, LJI Reporter
In a sunny suite in Chomedey, the English-Speaking Senior Wellness Centre hums most days with activities and coffee chats. “We took it to a whole other level,” said Kevin McLeod, director of the Youth and Parents AGAPE Association. “We have a center that’s open five days a week with about four activities per day and then some.”
AGAPE has served Laval’s English-speaking minority since 1976, growing from food relief and literacy help into a wide network that now includes seniors’ programming, anti-dropout initiatives and youth mental-health outreach.
The centre grew out of Agape’s work with the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) and other partners and has become a lifeline. “We’re providing a home for these people,” McLeod said. “They call us a family now.”
Director of AGAPE, Kevin Mcloed sits at his desk at the senior wellness centre on August 28 2025 (Matthew Daldalian, NewsFirst Media)
AGAPE’s leadership says the group has spent years mapping out the realities of Laval’s English-speaking community and shaping its programs accordingly. Its head office was deliberately planted in Chomedey, home to a large cluster of anglophones, but the mission was never meant to stop at one neighbourhood. From the start, the organization has framed its work as something broader: a commitment to community itself.
Help from officials
AGAPE’s expansion has also meant building partnerships. The association credits a long list of municipal supporters who pitch in on events and point staff toward opportunities— councillors Aglaia Revelakis, Aline Dib, Vasilios Karadogiannis, Ray Khalil, Sandra El-Helou, David De Cotis and Seta Topouzian among them, as well as Mayor Stéphane Boyer.
According to AGAPE, these officials have helped anchor fundraisers like a comedy night gala and senior-centre picnics; Revelakis, for instance, has regularly backed the seniors’ wellness club activities and helped steer the group toward City of Laval programs that supported events such as last year’s gala.
The municipal connection now runs through the classroom too. AGAPE says it is working with city staff on an application for a 16-month project at Laval Junior and Laval Senior Academy— part of a broader push to meet youth where they are. McLeod said the aim is to keep students engaged during a period of change in schools. “All signs point to go,” he said.
That youth focus has sharpened in recent years. In local elementary and high schools, AGAPE staff share mental-health resources and run anti-dropout efforts. “If you don’t want to talk to mom, dad or your caregiver or if you don’t want to talk to school, there are hotlines and numbers to help,” McLeod said. The team also trains adults to recognize and respond to students in distress.
Provincially, AGAPE cites steady help from Fabre MNA Alice Abou-Khalil, Chomedey MNA Sonia Lakhoyan-Olivier, as well as Laval des Rapides MNA Céline Haytayan, and Milles Iles MNA Virginie Dufour. Federally, the group points to the continued support of MP Annie Koutrakis, with Angelo Iacono and Fayçal El-Khoury also having taken part in community events.
Beyond elected officials, the association’s day-to-day work leans on a web of institutions like Centre Intégré De Santé et De Services Sociaux de Laval (CISSS) or Health Canada— along with private donors, fundraising and self-financing.
The challenges are real. In Quebec, debates over language can leave many older anglophones feeling sidelined, and McLeod acknowledged that sense of vulnerability. “Seniors are feeling uneasy, to say the least,” he said. Even so, he pointed to signs of progress: institutions are listening, new partnerships are forming, and AGAPE is pressing ahead. The organization’s aim, he emphasized, is to bridge divides.
For McLeod, success is measured less in budgets and more in moments— the quiet relief of a senior who chooses to return the next day, or the energy in a room when activities are underway. To him, that is proof the centre is working. “We’re trying to help everybody,” he said.
