It was on Thursday, during a press conference held in the afternoon in Jonquière in the offices of the NPO, that the establishment of the program was officially announced. Without constraints and without obligations of a minimum number of hours per week, the TAPAJ program aims to promote the social reintegration of people who may have been marginalized in their journey, whatever they may be.
The Alternative Work Paid by the Day (TAPAJ) program will be deployed on work platforms, which will be previously determined by a partnership established between Équitem and companies wishing to get a helping hand with their chores. A social worker will be deployed on each work platform and will accompany teams of four participants in their tasks.
The TAPAJ program has already been launched in Dolbeau-Mistassini in the region. Saguenay is the second city to follow suit. (Sophie Lavoie/Le Quotidien)
“Concretely, any person who wishes to participate will come to us. We will refer her to a company that is a partner in the program. So, the person in question will, for two or three hours, go and accomplish simple tasks at the partner company. A salary will be paid directly after participation in the activity on the work floor. The person who took part in the activity will not be required to come back the next day or the next week,” explained André Simard, the general director at Équitem.
The work that will be carried out by the “tapajeurs” will not require prior qualifications or expertise, said Annie Doyon, director of partnerships and employability at Équitem. “The goal is really to allow as many people as possible to participate. For example, a person taking part in the program could be asked to clean a company’s premises. It’s a win-win relationship because within this company, there may not be anyone willing to do this task and therefore it’s the “tapajeur” who does it. charge and he is immediately paid for his work.”
Street workers, police officers, ambulance drivers, businesses and elected officials from Saguenay all contributed to the success of the program. (Sophie Lavoie/The Daily)
“A lever for intervention”
This project, which is also part of the Fund for Building Safer Communities (FBCS), should ultimately serve as a lever for intervention with people in precarious situations. “The idea is to work on harm reduction. There may be people tempted to turn to crime or completely disillusioned people who no longer want anything to do with society. What we want is to offer them a place where there is nothing commitment, where they can make money. It can serve as a springboard towards possible social reintegration,” said Mr. Simard.
The mayor of Saguenay, Julie Dufour, was very happy to be able to announce Saguenay’s financial participation in such a project. “It is essential for us in Saguenay to provide tools and inclusive services to people in precarious situations. The project led by Équitem embodies exactly that. This investment is part of our action plan. It is certain that a single action will not solve the entire problem of precariousness, but it is an excellent step forward.”
André Simard, general manager at Équitem, accompanied by Julie Dufour, mayor of Saguenay. (Sophie Lavoie/The Daily)
For now, however, the program is still in its embryonic stage. Équitem should soon conclude agreements with private companies in order to offer the first work platforms to interested “tapajeurs” and “tapajeuses”.
“We have five or six companies that have stated that they have a serious interest in the project. It should come to fruition shortly with them. Obviously, we hope that in the medium and long term, other companies will contact us. We would like to offer two different work platforms to fill daily slots. That is our goal,” admitted the man who manages Équitem.
The first months of the program will be crucial for Équitem. A strong takeoff would allow the initiative to take off more easily.
“We know that there will perhaps be apprehensions among certain companies, but socially we will have to look broader. We must stop pigeonholing people and thinking that by directing them to this or that ministry everything will be resolved. Very often, the intervention of a single actor is not sufficient and the person in difficulty ends up having collateral effects on other spheres of society, our hospitals for example. So, TAPAJ, although quite narrow in its approach, allows us to provide one more solution to this issue of precariousness. We must fight for inclusiveness on a multiplicity of fronts. In the end, it allows us to move forward better together,” summarized Mr. Simard.
