People of Perley - Miranda Benoit

Long before Miranda Benoit wore a Perley badge, she was already part of the Perley Health community.

As a private caregiver, she spent years supporting individuals one-on-one and often found herself drawn into the life, energy, and possibility of recreation. That pull would eventually lead her back to school, and back to Perley, this time as a Recreation Programmer.

Miranda worked as a private caregiver for nearly a decade. For eight of those years, many of her clients lived at Perley. Day after day, she found herself immersed in the life of the community, helping residents get to activities, staying to participate, and pitching in whenever she could.

Miranda first trained as a Personal Support Worker at Algonquin College in 2015. Caregiving came naturally to her, and she stayed with it for ten years. But being at Perley sparked something more.

“I was first introduced to Perley because one of my clients moved in,” she says. She was impressed by the people, the scope of programming, and the care. “There are so many opportunities for residents to get engaged and get out of their rooms and see people. That's something that I really love about Perley.”

At Perley, recreation plays a central role in supporting wellbeing. Over time, Miranda found herself gravitating towards recreation, not just as an activity, but as a profession. She'd walk residents to their activities, join in if music was playing, and watch how staff connected with residents – bringing energy, creativity, and joy into everyday moments.

Inspired by the staff around her, Miranda began to consider a career pivot. “The staff really encouraged me to go back to school and take recreation,” she reflects. “One of the recreation staff members was a great mentor to me.”

Miranda returned to Algonquin College to study recreation therapy in 2023. She completed the two-year program and chose Perley for her five-week placement, hoping it would lead somewhere. It did.

Now a Recreation Programmer at Perley. Miranda is excited to be making an impact on a larger scale.

“As a caregiver it was a lot of one-on-one,” she says. “In recreation I can engage many residents and enhance the quality of life for many people at the same time.”

One of her favourite activities is a music-based program called Shake, Rattle and Sing.

“I put on music with lyrics, give everyone little rattles and we just jam out.”

Looking back, she sees how her experience as a private caregiver adds so much to her new role.

“Having that experience definitely helped,” she says. “It made the transition into recreation feel natural.”

For Miranda, Perley Health has never been just a workplace. It's a community that saw her potential, encouraged her to take the next step and now allows her to give back in a bigger way – supporting connection, joy, and quality of life for residents.