The Association pour la défense des droits sociaux (ADDS) Huntingdon is partnering with Centraide Sud-Ouest du Québec to ensure that citizens facing vulnerable situations in the Haut-Saint-Laurent continue to receive support.
ADDS director Valérie Taillefer says the partnership with Centraide, which includes a $15,000 donation, will provide ADDS with the solid funding base it needs to pursue its mission.
Centraide Sud-Ouest du Québec is recognized for its commitment to providing solidarity and support to community organizations. It supports at least nine organizations in both the Beauharnois-Salaberry and Vaudreuil-Soulanges regions, as well as five regional organizations, while ADDS is currently the only partner organization in the Haut-Saint-Laurent.
Taillefer says there is a clear alignment between ADDS’s values and those at Centraide, and that this synergy made it possible to establish a partnership. “This support will strengthen our ability to help our 638 members in a context where community needs are growing,” she explains, noting the investment will allow for some breathing room when it comes to developing more services and expanding the organization.
Taillefer explains that Centraide’s approach to centralizing donations enables organizations like ADDS to rely on stable, predictable financial resources. This approach ensures that every dollar donated will be used to make a significant impact in the Haut-Saint-Laurent community.
enthusiastic crowd gathered on Thursday, September 19, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Vision Gaspé-Percé Now at Destination Gaspé. “Twenty years is a long time to survive for a community organization,” President Tony Conoley told the crowd, “The support from the government has grown, the network of partners has grown, and the number of programs we offer has grown as well.”
“And I don’t want to quote Donald Trump, but the number of clients is beautiful, beautiful!” exclaimed Mr. Conoley, garnering a laugh from the attendees.
The President went on to express his appreciation for the group’s partners, board members, staff and volunteers. “This past year we continued to work hard to offer a large diversity of services and programs. We are building a youth program. We have increased our mental wellness activities and we are studying the feasibility of buying our building our own place.”
A representative from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages was the guest speaker for the evening. Alexandre Renaud presented the results of a recent study which indicated how myths and misperceptions about anglophone and francophone Quebecers are still a common occurrence. SPEC will have an in-depth look at that report in our next issue.
Every year Vision invites nominations for Volunteer of The Year. Executive Director Jessica Synnott indicated that there were eleven nominations this year. “Volunteers are very much at the heart of any community organization.” The winner was Rhonda Stewart, who has worked diligently with Camp Fort Haldimand.
In the absence of the auditor, board member Connie Jacques presented the annual financial report. “The auditor found no problems with the report. We have a $4,000 surplus, much like last year,” Ms. Jacques explained. The AGM approved the reappointment of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton as auditors for next year.
Vision’s communications officer, Emma McGinnis, then took the attendees through a game of Kahoot with a series of questions to emphasize the impact of the organization. Participants discovered there were almost 100 sessions for the training and retention of healthcare workers with Dialogue McGill, and three recipients of the McGill Bursary: Amy Briand-Fournier, Madison Dorion, and Gabrielle Labbé.
Vision has added a fifth Senior’s Wellness Centre: Douglastown now joins Gaspé, Murdochville, Maison Quartier, and Barachois as a location for these activities to support seniors’ physical, cognitive and mental health.
The Bright Beginnings program held 29 activities for children, and 10 prenatal sessions were held. Vue d’Ensemble is a two-year project to bring French and English youth together for activities such as a drama club and lunch hour games. Eight activities were held.
More than 13,000 frozen meals were delivered to seniors last year, up an astounding 33% from 2022-23. The number of seniors also increased by 31% to 929.
At the end of the meeting, two new board members joined the group, bringing the total to ten with one seat remaining vacant. This year’s board will include newcomers Shauna Simpson and Linda Jean, with Tony Conoley, Connie Jacques, Deborah Adams, Larry English, Jonathan Côté, Diane Kennedy, Nancy Briand, and Jonathan Jean repeating.
Everyone who knows Huntingdon resident Shirley Stark knows not to organize anything with her on Tuesday afternoons.
For the past 35 years, Stark has been volunteering every Tuesday afternoon at the Huntingdon Residential and Long-term Care Centre (CHSLD), where she leads a team of volunteers in organizing small concerts by local musicians as part of the Tender Loving Care program. She first learned of the musical therapy program while visiting her father when he was a resident of the care centre. She began volunteering right away and has never looked back.
At 91 years old, Stark says her work with the residents over the years has played a very important part in her life. “When you see their smiles and how they are enjoying themselves, you enjoy coming,” she says, while adding that her volunteer experience has been very rewarding.
Along with Stark, the team of volunteers behind the Tender Loving Care program includes Dawn Fleming, Mary Shewchuk, Denise Brown, Diane Hayvren, Mary Savage, Muguette Quenneville, and Vicky Krajcar. “We have all stuck together and developed friendships out of it all,” says Stark, who is careful to include the musicians as volunteers as well.
“We are so fortunate the musicians all like to come. They give us a lovely afternoon of music,” says Stark, of the different bands and groups who happily play free of charge for the residents each week.
Around 85 per cent of the 60 residents at the CHSLD take part regularly in the TLC afternoons. Many have limited mobility and are living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, but this does not matter to the TLC team. Stark says they work to create a festive atmosphere, where the volunteers dance and interact with residents. “They know we are going to look after them for the afternoon,” says Stark of the trusting bond the volunteers develop with the residents.
Stark says she is often struck by the way music reaches the residents. When the bands play certain songs, they can sing along to every word. There are often requests for specific songs as well. She remembers one woman who was always agitated during the musical afternoons. When the volunteers discovered she was a former music teacher, they wheeled her up to the piano. “When she put her hands on it, she just played beautifully,” recalls Stark. “We remember them all fondly,” she says, with a smile.
PHOTO Sarah Rennie Volunteers with the CISSSMO were able to enjoy a recent performance by Elvis tribute artist Sylvain Leduc. Events such as this would not be possible without these dedicated volunteers.
The staff are also very aware of the importance of these afternoons, as are the families of residents, who sometimes join in on the fun. Véronique Blais, a communications and public affairs representative with the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO), says volunteers make a significant contribution to improving and maintaining the quality of life of residents and their families. Their work complements that of the healthcare teams and provides a more human care experience for residents, she explains.
There are 52 active volunteers with the Huntingdon CHSLD, which is significant considering there has been a significant decrease in the number of people donating their time throughout the CISSSMO since the start of the pandemic. “We currently estimate that there are 300 volunteers across all our facilities,” says Blais, who notes there were upwards of 600 volunteers prior to 2020. She says the CISSSMO is now recruiting new volunteers in the hope of matching their pre-COVID numbers by 2025.
Stark says the pandemic stopped the TLC Tuesdays for a while, and there have been a couple of afternoons where the activity has been cancelled due to an outbreak of illness or COVID in the building. Her group of dedicated volunteers doesn’t hesitate to get back to work once visitors are allowed to return. “We have to rock the boat and keep going,” she says of their devotion to the residents and the program.
“Shirley is a role model,” says Lisa de Repentigny, who works as a leisure technician at the CHSLD. “She likes music, she likes people, and it is very easy for her to come,” she explains, while highlighting how important the work of volunteers like Stark and her TLC crew are to the residents.
“We see a big change in our residents,” de Repentigny says. “[The volunteers] bring a little bit of normalcy,” she adds. “We are very lucky to have them.”
The La Bouffe Additionelle food pantry in Huntingdon recently received just under $48,500 from the provincial government to purchase new freezers and automotive equipment. Essentially, the organization is looking to invest in a refrigerated truck, and soon.
The funding is part of the Quebec Food Banks Infrastructure program to fight food insecurity by strengthening the province’s aid network, reducing food waste, and improving storage capacity.
The Moisson Sud-Ouest food bank, which serves over 80 organizations in the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry, and MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, also received $500,000 in funding through this initiative for the expansion of its new warehouse in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. La Bouffe Additionnelle, which is one of the organizations served by Moisson Sud-Ouest, learned about the call for projects through the regional food bank.
A refrigerated truck would allow La Bouffe Additionnelle to travel greater distances to collect donated food products from local grocery stores. With the current vehicle, the organization is restricted to the Huntingdon area, and drivers are not able to go even as far as Ormstown to collect goods because the truck is unable to keep products cold. The situation becomes even more pressing come May when budgetary restrictions will force Moisson Sud-Ouest to stop deliveries to the area.
Sylvie Racette, the director of La Bouffe Additionnelle, says a new truck is essential, but the organization is still short more than half of the funds necessary to purchase the vehicle. She has applied to the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent’s second call for vitalisation projects, but she is looking for private donations as well to help cover the costs.
Racette says that along with being able to collect more goods, the organization is hoping to use the truck to help those facing food insecurity in more remote areas of the Haut-Saint-Laurent who may not be able to travel to Huntingdon. They also hope to be able to loan the truck out to other community organizations working to fight food insecurity in the region.
Need continues to grow
Racette says the need in the area for food support is significant. “It is growing. I have seen an increase since I started last June,” she notes, while acknowledging the clientele is changing. She says the organization has gone from helping seven or eight clients per day to as many as 20. “The paradigm has changed,” she says, noting they are in the process of adjusting their rules around who is eligible for help. With inflation, some who own their own home and have jobs are still struggling to make ends meet, she explains.
This past December the organization distributed 450 food baskets. Racette says that while the demand has increased, so too has the number of volunteers. At least 20 people volunteered to help with the Christmas basket distribution, and she has six volunteers who regularly come to help. She notes that the community is also becoming more involved. For example, the Darragh Trucking Company loaned the organization a truck to keep food from spoiling when supplies surpassed their freezer capacity last December. Maison Russet also helped to store frozen goods. “The yesses came quickly,” she says.
Racette notes that after undergoing a period of transition, the food pantry is on solid footing with a supportive board of directors and new projects on the horizon.
“We dream about being able to provide Easter food baskets,” she says, suggesting they could also provide baskets at the start of the school year to help young families, or during other more difficult times of the year. “We simply don’t realize the extent of the need within the community,” she admits.
