Beginning in 2007, Montreal Tao Shiatsu practitioners, gave UNI Shiatsu ( shortened form of Tao Shiatsu treatment) to the general public and
participants in the annual Street Kids Art and Expression Festival. This is a vibrant, and sometimes gritty festival featuring music, dance and martial arts that is sponsored by “Les Pairs Aidants”, a group of former street kids who are committed to supporting and encouraging young people who have found themselves homeless, often in the grip of substance abuse.
Participation in this event has become a much loved, must do activity by Montreal members. It gives us an opportunity to realize oneness with a segment of society that most people would rather not acknowledge. Each year that we return we see familiar faces and new ones of young and not so young people who are living on the street. Shiatsu treatments at the festival are sometimes the only intervention that a street kid receives all year.
Over the course of a two day period, sixty or more treatments are given. Most of these are given to the kids and the supporting staff for free. The general public who come to enjoy the event are encouraged to donate any amount, which is then donated to the Pairs Aidants group. Success in this event is measured in how many people have been touched, both givers and receivers.
Click to see more photos of the Street Kids Festival in Montreal
