With its most recent economic update, the Quebec government missed a great opportunity to support the community sector and the most vulnerable young people.
While the labor shortage is at the heart of this mini-budget and millions of dollars have been announced to limit its impacts, community organizations have once again been left behind.
Out of breath, we have already sounded the alarm several times. For these young people whom we support, there is a real urgency to act.
In the Auberges du cœur, community youth shelters open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the financial situation is precarious.
This exacerbates the problem of recruiting and retaining staff and the consequences for young people are major. These living environments are known to be places of support, listening and advice when times get too tough.
Sound management
Remember, like a business, making a community organization work well requires sound management: you have to maintain buildings, pay electricity and insurance bills, offer decent salaries, etc.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of funding for the Auberges du cœur, which reaches more than $ 11 million annually in relation to the needs to which they meet, the salaries of the employees are derisory, thus leading to a great turnover of staff.
Let’s face it, right now many of the workers in our resources could get a better salary working in a large fast food chain!
Organizations are thus more limited in their reception capacity and activities, but also in the support they offer to young people in order to support them in the transition to adulthood and the realization of their projects. While many hostels can only have one person on the floor, how can we support young people who want to take charge of their lives, improve their health, find adequate housing, return to school or even find a job?
Underfunding that has consequences
The observation is obvious: the underfunding of community youth shelters ensures that young people do not leave homelessness, do not reintegrate socially and do not participate in collective life to the extent of their potential. They then use more health and social services rather than creating wealth for our society.
We currently find in the Auberges du cœur, in youth centers and even in the streets thousands of resilient and quick-witted adolescents and young adults who could contribute to the society of tomorrow, if only we gave them the means to develop to their full potential. However, the most vulnerable young people are once again taken over, as are the community resources that work with these populations.
In this context of labor shortage, can Quebec really do without even one young person to contribute to the community? To ask the question, is to answer it !
It is high time to support community organizations that support our most vulnerable young people. Quebec cannot afford to lose them. We urge elected officials to act before it is too late.
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