Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Association pour la défense des droits sociaux (ADDS) Huntingdon has updated its branding to reach as many people as possible, as living conditions within the Haut-Saint-Laurent deteriorate.

ADDS director Valérie Taillefer says the organization has been working for almost two years to rebrand its services, so the community better understands its focus on defending social rights and its important role within the Haut-Saint-Laurent community.

The colourful new logo and slogan were unveiled on October 19 following a campaign on social media, which counted down the days to the big reveal by highlighting different social rights such as mobility, food security, housing, equality and inclusions, and a healthy environment.

Taillefer says the slogan, “For a fair, supportive, and fulfilled community,” highlights how living conditions concern every one of us, while the new logo emphasizes the organization’s solidarity and commitment toward the community while evoking the importance of collective action and respect for the environment.

Taillefer admits that people tend to associate ADDS with separate services, such as its annual tax clinic, which is just one of its activities related to ensuring access to a decent income. “We are not just a small accounting office for part of the year,” she explains. The needs are there, she says, but they are expanding in many other ways across the Haut-Saint-Laurent.

“It’s not normal to pay so much for housing, to pay so much for groceries when our incomes don’t allow it. People are cutting back everywhere, and we can see that our members’ needs are growing,” she says. “We are going to see that the problems are going to become more and more visible.”

As an example, Taillerfer points to the snack bowl sitting on the table in their office. “Before the pandemic, people were embarrassed to take the snacks we were offering, but now people ask for them,” she says, noting they now partner with Moisson Sud-Ouest to be able to provide a variety of options to those in need.

ADDS also partners with the cercle de Fermières de Sainte-Barbe to offer knitted products to help people keep warm over the winter, including hats, scarves, socks, and slippers. At least 86 families were able to benefit from this partnership this year. A new supply of warm accessories is now available at their Huntingdon office.

“For me, this creates a kind of solidarity chain, with everyone helping each other out,” says Taillefer, who suggests this is precisely what is needed to help people weather the current social crisis.

She adds that those looking for ways to help can become involved with their community organizations by donating their time or funds, or by supporting the area’s different organizations at demonstrations. “That’s how we are going to make our concerns heard by the government, be it municipal, provincial or federal, so there are better programs to support households in the Haut-Saint-Laurent.”

More information on the services offered by ADDS Huntingdon is available online or by contacting 450-264-6888.