The social workers of the Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team (ÉMMIS) will be present in all boroughs of Montreal by 2025. ÉMMIS provides first-rate intervention in public spaces by defusing crisis and conflict situations, particularly with vulnerable people, such as homeless or intoxicated people. They intervene when the presence of the police is not necessary or in collaboration with the police.
Launched in 2021 in the Ville-Marie borough as a pilot project, the squad has since expanded its area of operation to serve three other boroughs: Sud-Ouest, Plateau Mont-Royal and Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. In winter 2024, ÉMMIS extended its scope of intervention in the Montreal metro. “There are vulnerabilities that are increasingly present […]”It requires being proactive,” Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said at a press conference Tuesday.
The presence of ÉMMIS in the 19 boroughs of the metropolis will be gradual, starting with those who need it most, explained the mayor. When ÉMMIS was created, the City indicated that extending the team’s services across its entire territory was in the plans. The team currently has 52 workers and others will be added during 2025 to meet new needs.
ÉMMIS will also expand the means available to Montrealers to contact its teams. Citizens will be able to dial 211 to request intervention as of “early 2025,” revealed Josefina Blancola, responsible for diversity and social inclusion on the executive committee of the City of Montreal. In 2023, 15% of requests to ÉMMIS came from the public and businesses, while 30% of calls came from the Montreal Police Department, which redirects them to the team.
More details will follow.
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