Greater Montreal is about to enter its eighth week of stay-at-home orders to flatten the coronavirus curve. While our priority remains to ensure the food security of vulnerable people and provide access to listening, assistance and referral services, we are paying close attention to emerging and future needs.

Psychological distress is increasing. Because they are so isolated and vulnerable, some people don’t know which resources to turn to. Others need support to use government programs or file their income taxes. Renters confined in unsafe housing are as vulnerable as ever. Young people with academic problems are lagging behind, and their risk of dropping out is rising.

Given these needs brought to our attention by community agencies, we have launched Phase 2 of the Emergency and Recovery Fund with updated criteria, and the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation is working with Centraide on a project to support young people.

At a time in their lives when they yearn for independence and freedom, teens in particular can feel the pressure of staying at home. They can’t go out to have fun or see their friends, while indoors they are supposed to limit their screen time and keep quiet while adapting to a new home-school routine. Teen relationships with parents, which can already be difficult, are being tested. 

Although many teens are very cooperative and even finding creative ways to make the most of this pandemic period, others are in extremely difficult situations. These youths may be marginalized because they live in poverty, are neglected, lack food, experience violence, or are left to their own devices to keep up with their studies.

The number of secondary students under stay-at-home orders in Montreal, Laval and Montérégie.

The Chagnon Foundation and Centraide shine a light on youth success

The long school closures may negatively impact the academic success of children and teens, particularly students experiencing problems in their personal lives or at school. Online education initiatives have only increased the gap between well-off students and disadvantaged ones who don’t have the same learning conditions, such as a work space, tools, support and encouragement.

Given the urgent need to act, the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation is relying on the expertise of the Centraides of Quebec to invest $2.5M in youth agencies that help isolated and marginalized youth.
 
Various initiatives will provide them with educational and psychosocial support so that they can confidently return to school in 2020-2021.

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Thanks to support from our Emergency Fund, L’Antre-Jeunes de Mercier-Est has been on the front lines since the start of the crisis to support teens at the neighbourhood’s HLMs and those in a situation of homelessness.

“Since the announcement of our funding [from the Centraide Emergency Fund], our street outreach worker who normally works part-time is now out in the field full-time to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. Our two youth centres are also running online activities seven days a week and providing telephone support.

We have massively increased our food assistance. Over 325 families have received food baskets since March 13, and the number of people signing up for this service is increasing every week.  
 
We have also started online cooking workshops with young people. We deliver the ingredients to them and then they connect over Zoom so that we can remotely cook as a group.

Since the start of the health crisis, Greater Montreal’s neighbourhood roundtables have ramped up their efforts and creativity to reach the most vulnerable members of their communities.

But what exactly is a neighbourhood roundtable? This throwback video does a great job of explaining the concept.

Thanks to a partnership with different agencies such as the CDC Côte-des-Neiges, a truck with loudspeakers has been travelling around the area to broadcast information about COVID-19 in 10 languages. You can't miss it!

From their balconies, seniors at the Habitation Nouvelles Avenues enjoyed a visit from actors dressed up in fantastical costumes. With the support of the CDC Rosemont, this seniors’ residence teamed up with the theatrical company Drôldadon to show 70 seniors that they are not alone.

The Peter-McGill Community Council created a poster about neighbourhood resources accessible by telephone, such as food delivery services and 24/7 help lines. The council is asking residents to help put up these posters in the neighbourhood.

Needs are increasing. If you have not already done so, please donate to the COVID-19 Emergency and Recovery Fund if you are financially able to. Centraide is committed to reallocating all of this money to agencies as quickly as possible.

Thank you for showing your local love, for everyone’s benefit!

GIVE TO THE EMERGENCY FUND