A display of hope and happiness on Stewart Street

Paula Kelsall

Anyone who’s walked down Stewart Street west of King Edward Avenue in the last several months has probably noticed an exuberant array of birdhouses on the south side of the street. Over the course of the last year, they’ve expanded from one Japanese lilac into the neighbouring trees, until now there’s an entire brick row, each unit with a colourfully decorated tree in the front yard.

The little houses come in a remarkable variety of shapes and sizes, all painted in joyful colours. Many have messages painted on them. “Sunny Days,” says one. Another says, “Tu es pour moi un ami de cœur que j’apprécie.”

The birdhouses are the work of Alain Cadieux, who started making them in an art therapy program he attends as a cancer patient. He says he never imagined he’d be talking to anyone about his birdhouses; “I’m not a bird guy, like at all!” But he admits cheerfully that they’ve become a bit of an obsession.

“Funnily enough, it just started with five bird houses and then became twenty, twenty became fifty and now I am just a little over a hundred,” he tells me.

The fifth anniversary of Alain’s diagnosis is coming up in April. He says it hasn’t been an easy experience. “I’ve had multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, a few life altering surgeries, a significant reduction in my quality of life . . . Unfortunately, a lot of my cancer support buddies I started this journey with five years ago, who had the same diagnosis, aren’t with us today.”

Alain figures he’s made it this far thanks to an army of supporters, including his wife, other family members, friends, his medical practitioners and his dog. But he adds that “There are times, especially during treatments, where my body is absolutely destroyed and I am simply exhausted. When I am down though, all I need to do is go outside and admire the birdhouses, and it immediately gives me a smile and the perseverance to keep fighting.”

Alain says his birdhouses bring joy to others as well as to himself. “If ever you know someone that’s battling cancer, why not paint a birdhouse for them and put it in their tree so whenever they see it, it’s going to remind them that they are not alone in their fight,” he suggests. “And if ever they wanted more hope, bring them in front of my house and show them there’s an army of people out there, and that they are not alone.”

If you feel the urge to join Alain’s army, you can get a birdhouse, prebuilt and ready to paint, at Dollarama. “Make sure you sign and date it, and write a little message of hope. I will make sure to put it up in the tree for others to see,” he says. “And if ever I run out of room, not to worry, others on my street have also started putting their own birdhouses and I’m not worried it will be hard to convince my neighbours to put the birdhouses in their trees.”