“Emergency aid” allocated Wednesday by Quebec will allow Accueil Bonneau to maintain its food aid services seven days a week for “a few months”, while it finds “long-lasting solutions” to the chronic lack of funding for the organism.
The Old Montreal establishment feared having to stop distributing meals in February, likely to cause, it said, “a catastrophe which could have serious consequences for the ecosystem of the fight against homelessness in the Greater Montreal area. Montreal.”
The Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, met Wednesday morning with the general director of Accueil Bonneau, Fiona Crossling, to avoid a disruption in service in the daily distribution of some 400 meals, rue de la Commune.
“It is certainly a relief both for the people who benefit from a hot meal every day and for the employees whose jobs were until now threatened by this situation,” declared Mr.me Crossling in a press release following the meeting.
According to our information, the organization helping people experiencing homelessness or precariousness will be able to draw from a fund of some 7 million which will be managed by the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
This funding in extremis will allow Accueil Bonneau to maintain its services until March 31, “while the long-term problem is resolved thanks to adequate, predictable and recurring annual funding for the mission.”
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The organization announced that it would end its weekend meal services as of January 6. Thanks to the aid announced Wednesday morning, food distribution will resume seven days a week from mid-January.
At the end of December, The Press revealed that Accueil Bonneau, almost 150 years old, was on the brink of collapse after three years of deficits. Its expenses – labor costs, inflation, rising social needs – have increased in recent years, but its income has plateaued or even declined due to the end of pandemic aid.
The food offering “is an essential service, but which does not fit into the PSOC funding envelope [Programme de soutien aux organismes communautaires] », explained the general director, Fiona Crossling, in an interview.
“Accueil Bonneau offers transitional and long-term housing, but does not offer 24/7 emergency accommodation. Since we do not check this box, our requests to increase the funding category at the mission are not accepted. »
The organization announced that it would end its weekend meal services as of January 6. Thanks to the aid announced Wednesday morning, food distribution will resume seven days a week from mid-January.
Unanswered questions
At the end of the meeting, Minister Carmant wrote on X that he and Mme Crossling had “agreed that the meal service would be maintained through emergency assistance”, but that the development of services open 24/7 was necessary in the long term, which would open the door to additional funding .
“It is a fundamental element if we wish to offer the best possible services and help people experiencing homelessness to get off the street,” he commented. “Discussions are continuing to find a lasting solution to the funding issues at Accueil Bonneau. This is a priority for our government. »
“As discussions with the Quebec government continue, Accueil Bonneau will not make any further comments at this time,” said Fiona Crossling.