The three opposition parties in Quebec want to save the Maison de Sophia, a shelter for women in difficulty threatened with imminent closure for lack of funding. They call on the government to urgently inject the necessary funds to ensure the organization’s survival.
“We must save the House of Sophia, launches the PQ MP Mégane Perry Mélançon on the phone. We have to find the missing $230,000, we have to find them! And we must avoid closure. »
Saying she was “shocked” by the testimonies of the residents of the Maison de Sophia that she heard in the media, the spokesperson for the status of women of the PQ repeats that this organization is “essential” and that it responds to a real need in the field. “We cannot just relocate women for whom this is their home, their family. We cannot always change interveners and social workers. You cannot sacrifice a house believing that the problem can be solved elsewhere. This is not the solution. »
His colleagues from the Liberal Party and Québec solidaire agree. According to Liberal Isabelle Melançon, who challenged the government on this issue more than two weeks ago in the blue room, the government is completely on the wrong track by “doing willful blindness” in the face of the problem of homelessness among women.
“The government tells us: you will see, there is a new resource that will open […] but it is a mixed resource. And you have to understand the difference between a mixed resource and a resource completely dedicated to women. A woman who has known the street, violence, she doesn’t really like meeting up with guys and being accompanied by men in a resource. »
The Member for Verdun recalls that Maison de Sophia is the only resource to offer this type of service for women in difficulty throughout the Laurentians. The other five resources for women have the mission of helping women who are victims of domestic violence, while she welcomes women with various backgrounds: drug addiction, sexual violence, mental health problems.
“It’s as if we were completely overshadowing the problem of homelessness and the problems that women can experience on a daily basis,” laments Ms.me Melancon.
Manon Massé of Québec solidaire also speaks of a “misunderstanding” of the specific missions of each resource and their particularities. “There is a lack of knowledge of the system and a difficulty in recognizing that there are very specific approaches that must be taken with women who are in the process of regaining possession of their lives,” argues the supportive MP.
An answer from an “accountant”
All three said they were shocked by the response of Prime Minister François Legault, who threw the stone at the administrators of the House of Sophia by claiming that they had problems with accountability. The volunteer president of the board of directors, Alexandra Soumain, acknowledges that some figures are missing from the past few years, but repeats that the new team is working hard and in complete transparency to resolve the problem.
“When the Prime Minister from the top of his platform comes to say that this group is poorly managed, I find it really out of place, says Manon Massé, who herself comes from the community sector. She argues that accountability requirements are even higher in the community setting than for large corporations managing millions. “You really don’t have to know these bands to say things like that,” she says.
She would have liked to hear the Prime Minister offer help to volunteer administrators rather than “putting them down”.
Isabelle Melançon is of the same opinion. She believes that the Prime Minister “thought like an accountant” and that he should have offered support to managers rather than using this argument to justify the closure of the organization. “It’s not just a column of numbers, we’re talking about human beings!” “, she is indignant.
“It takes an immediate solution. It takes resources for women. And this organization has proven itself. If they have doubts about the management of the books, that they put someone to accompany them, it costs a lot less than returning women to the street without any service and without accompaniment. »
The duty asked for an interview with the Minister for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, and the Minister for the Status of Women, Isabelle Charest. “We will ensure that there are no service disruptions. This is what we are committed to, ”replied Lionel Carmant’s press officer. In addition, we are in contact with the establishment to try to find a place that suits everyone. »