Mobile mediation and social intervention team | Managing distress, one person at a time

Calming a person in crisis, finding shelter for a homeless person under the influence of drugs, directing a person in distress to the right services… Social workers have been crisscrossing the streets of Montreal since September to try to defuse crises and avoid a police intervention. The Press accompanied them.

Isabelle Ducas
The Press

Wednesday, 9 p.m. Lina*, with disheveled hair and a scowl, is outside the homeless shelter at the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal when the workers arrive. ” I do not want to speak to you ! “, she says, fiercely, to Aude * and Olivier *, who were called to the scene by the managers of the refuge.

She rushes inside and disappears down a hallway. At the reception, Estelle*, the manager, seems relieved to see the two representatives of the Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team (EMMIS).

“Madame is not well, she consumes a lot. She tells us that she wants to go to therapy tonight, otherwise she threatens to kill herself, ”explains Estelle to the workers. “We don’t want her to sleep here because we’re afraid she’ll make a move during the night. She is very impulsive, and we are afraid of her. We want you out of here with her. »

The request is clear. Before meeting Lina, Aude and Olivier discuss her options. Should we offer to take him to the addiction psychiatry department of the CHUM? At the psychosocial-justice emergency department of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal? Could she go to L’Exode, an organization specializing in social reintegration?

Their job is to try to accompany the person who needs help and find the best resource for them, avoiding police intervention if possible.

Lack of collaboration

The two EMMIS representatives leave to meet Lina inside the refuge. They come back 15 minutes later. None of their proposals worked.

The Social Development Society, which oversees EMMIS, manages a “high tolerance threshold” night shelter at the Guy-Favreau Complex, which notably welcomes people who are intoxicated or have mental health problems.

But it did not please Lina, who even pretended to charge Aude during their conversation, before a security guard intervened. “The more we spoke to him, the more there was an escalation,” laments the young woman.

Having failed to obtain his cooperation, the workers decided to recommend that the shelter call the police.

The police arrive five minutes later. Aude and Olivier tell them about the situation and go with them to Lina. Then, the police will call an ambulance, with the aim of taking Lina to the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

As their presence is no longer required, the EMMIS workers leave the premises.

“We don’t like it to end like this,” laments Aude.

“But at least she will receive the care she needs,” consoles Olivier.

EMMIS before the police

The Press followed the two EMMIS workers for a shift to see what their work might look like.

What Aude and Olivier are happy about is that the people in charge of the homeless shelter called EMMIS before turning to the police. If Lina had been more collaborative, this story could have been resolved without disturbing the police.

“The purpose of this resource is to avoid unnecessary police interventions and to try to defuse crisis situations that could escalate,” explains city councilor Josefina Blanco, responsible in particular for homelessness and of social inclusion to the executive committee.

“Everyone has their role,” adds Olivier. The police must enforce the law, while we have a more humanistic approach. We try to create links with people, and sometimes it takes time, because if we go too fast, it risks causing overflows. »

“The EMMIS is like a breath of fresh air, it works with us to offer continuity in the services”, emphasizes Narcisse*, of the Mission Bon Accueil, supervisor of the shelter for the homeless at the Hôtel-Dieu.

The team of eight workers, at work since September 2021 in the borough of Ville-Marie, has carried out more than 1,500 interventions since its creation.

Last March, the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, announced that the pilot project carried out so far would continue at least until December 31. In addition, four workers will be added to the team to offer services 24 hours a day.

Tents and igloos

When they are not answering a call, the workers make rounds downtown, in the sectors where the homeless people are. In their bags, they carry naloxone, an antidote used in the event of an opioid overdose, a plastic box to dispose of used syringes, socks and condoms to distribute to those in need.

They know the corners of alleys and vacant lots where camps are set up. Like here, for example, near the bus terminus, where a kind of foam igloo is hidden under a staircase.

Sometimes, workers mediate with merchants who are bothered by people who inject drugs near their businesses. They try to find a compromise.

But their interventions do not only concern the street world. They have already been arrested for a woman victim of domestic violence. She had first called the police, but she did not want to file a complaint. The police couldn’t do much more.

“We stayed with her for a while, we asked her what she wanted. If she wanted to go to a resource for women victims of violence or to someone in her family,” says Aude.

Finally, the woman’s daughter came to pick her up. But the responders were able to give him referrals for help.

“We are the Fort Boyard of the intervention, we can find ourselves in all kinds of situations”, jokes Olivier.

* Only first names have been used in this article, to protect the confidentiality of the speakers.