Mont Saint-Antoine Rehabilitation Center | Lots of work since the “floods”

While waiting to be completely rebuilt, the Mont Saint-Antoine rehabilitation center will undergo a major “upgrade”: the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal will devote the quarter of its capital budget, or $15 million, over the next two years.

The Press was invited by the management of the CIUSSS to come and visit the establishment, which has been the subject of numerous reports for almost a year. The media broadcast several images of leaking roofs, mushrooms growing inside walls, and damage caused by water infiltration. An investigation by the Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights was launched in December. In addition, an inventory carried out by the Ministry of Health, made public at the beginning of March, assigned an E rating – the worst – to seven of the eight buildings at Mont Saint-Antoine, which dates from 1965.

However, these images do not reflect the current situation in the rehabilitation center, insists the director of youth protection, Assunta Gallo.

“Yes, there were floods. But there are a lot of things that have been done since then,” says Patrick Fortin, site coordinator. “When I read or hear everything that is said about Mont Saint-Antoine, it bothers me a lot. There are no children in danger here,” adds Jason Champagne, director of the youth program at the CIUSSS.

The visit carried out by The Press, during which we surveyed the majority of the 15 living units of the immense site, shows that the interior of certain units has been renovated, while others are still awaiting their rejuvenation treatment. However, “inverted umbrellas”, these canvases suspended from the ceiling equipped with a pipe which let the water flow into buckets, have been a thing of the past everywhere for about two months, assures Daniel Neskovic, deputy director of technical services at CIUSSS.

In the Nautilus Unit meeting room, speakers lived with such inverted umbrellas for more than two years. Employees at Mont Saint-Antoine told us that such devices had sometimes been installed in rooms frequented by young people, such as playrooms and bathrooms.

The roofing work, which had been planned for years, should in theory have been carried out last summer. Except that the lowest bidder, the IBE Group, started the work so poorly that the CIUSSS was forced to terminate the contract. “We had to build a case against the contractor. It was six months of fights and lawyers,” says Mr. Neskovic.

A “major rehabilitation” undertaking will be deployed over the next two years, explains Daniel Neskovic. “We want to secure the entire site for 15 years. » Then, it is hoped, we will obtain the budgets to completely rebuild the site. A plan to this effect will be presented to the Ministry of Health within two months. Estimated cost: 150 million.

Immediately, from April, we will begin to erect a modular building on the site. It will be completed in August. This building will accommodate, in turn, the young people housed and their caregivers while their living units are completely renovated. We will redo the roofs of all the units, we will review the condition of the brick and we will strip all the walls of the kitchens and bathrooms to completely redo them. At a rate of three months per building, the work will last from 2024 to 2026, just like that which will affect the main building, where the roof and drainage systems will be completely redone.

“Patch”

“What worries us is that until now, we have patched it. There was painting, replacement of tiles, but the roofs were never redone. If there are heavy rains this spring and summer, who’s to say that inverted umbrellas won’t come back? », observes Julie Houle, president of the local executive of the Alliance of professional and technical personnel in health and social services, which represents the stakeholders of the rehabilitation center.

Many stakeholders who work at Mont Saint-Antoine have contacted The Press over the last few weeks. Some said they were “embarrassed” to present the living spaces to parents who come to take their young person back there.

Others fear mold, which could have been caused by successive water infiltrations. “I’ve been dealing with water damage for years. I have terrible migraines. As soon as I enter my unit, I start to have a headache,” says a worker, who has worked at the rehabilitation center for a long time.

“We regularly do air quality tests, which are carried out by an external laboratory,” answers Daniel Neskovic. There are no spores or mold to worry about. » So the air is healthy in all units? “That’s what the analyzes say. » However, it should be noted that certain spaces in the central building, such as the amphitheater, are still condemned following water infiltration.

Likewise, some speakers mentioned The Press that toilets and showers were blocked for many months in the unit where they worked, which seriously complicated the lives of the young people.

“For more than a year, there were no bathrooms in all the units. There was only one shower and one bathroom, the sinks were boarded up, says a worker. In a unit with several boys and only one functioning toilet, we had poop on the walls and pee in bottles. »

Again, this situation no longer applies, assures M^me Gallo. The toilets and showers are almost all functional; some are also brand new.

Why are so many people contacting the media if the site is now adequate? “It started last summer, with the heavy rains and water damage,” replies Patrick Fortin. People said, OK, that doesn’t make sense. »