Nearly half of rooms in new alternative homes remain empty

Barely more than half of the rooms available in alternative homes are occupied, due to a lack of employees.

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“The needs are great and the network is continuing its efforts to recruit and train the workforce necessary to open all the places,” responds by email Marie-Claude Lacasse, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Services ( MSSS).

As of May 19, 255 places were occupied out of 480 available throughout the province. For example, houses with 24 spaces in Châteauguay and Quebec are empty.

857 places

Ultimately, the MSSS indicates that 857 places will be offered in alternative homes.

“We all want it to work,” argues Delphine Ragon, coordinator of Parents for Intellectual Disabilities (PARDI) and member of the Collective of organizations defending the rights of people with disabilities.

According to her, alternative houses are a beautiful model on paper. Especially since the few services currently available, such as intermediate or family-type resources, do not meet the needs of families, she says.

M^me Ragon hoped that the rooms would be full much more quickly, believing at the same time that there are many called but few chosen.

“People will stay throughout their lives, there will not be many places available,” she argues.

Real need

“Clearly, it was a real need that was there,” underlines Isabelle Portelance of the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, who piloted the alternative house project in Rivière-des-Prairies.

Very few places are dedicated to welcoming customers living with disabilities or intellectual disabilities, she said, leading to many adults staying at home without being completely safe and with exhausted loved ones.

She assures that recruitment in Montreal is going well.