(Montreal) A first Quebec network bringing together the main respite players for families of people living with a disability has just been created.
At the end of three years of consultation, more than fifty organizations and partners involved with people with disabilities and their families, grouped together at the provincial consultation table for respite, have chosen to join forces to give birth at Respit Quebec.
Funded by the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and the Mirella and Lino Saputo Foundation, among others, the initiative aims to give a stronger voice to all organizations by drawing a precise portrait of the services offered, the resources available and the various problems observed in the network, all to then determine common solutions.
“What we also realized is that even if the respite resources all have the same objective of supporting the parents and families of people with disabilities, they each feel very alone in their region, explains interview Carolyne Lavoie, spokesperson for Répit Québec. Belonging to a network is really unifying for them. We become a place where we can think together about solutions, share issues and bring them up to decision-makers. »
“We have started research to understand the respite ecosystem in Quebec,” adds Ms.me The way. We went to meet parents, respite resource managers, but we also identified inspiring initiatives of close assistance to apply in our environment. »
Two requests
Already, it is said, “the network is weakened by the glaring lack of resources”, which has forced some respite organizations to slow down or cease their activities. Some are even threatened with closure, for lack of staff and money to offer better working conditions to employees.
As with many other community organizations and organizations dedicated to social services, recurring funding and improved access to services for the most vulnerable clienteles constitute the sinews of war for respite resources.
Répit Québec denounces in particular the long delays caused by the recognition process relating to the granting of financial assistance related to families, which involves various assessments within the public health and social services network.
Barely born, Répit Québec made two requests to the government.
The new organization first challenges the latter to improve the allowances paid to families while offering them options adapted to their reality; he would also like the collaboration of Québec to support initiatives to promote and enhance respite services for students in special education, psychoeducation and social work, among others.
Especially since the needs will only increase in the near future.
“We are already in the increase and in the complexification of needs, notes Mme The way. The pandemic has brought more complex needs, but has also led to losses. The respite had to reinvent itself a bit. »
Customers are also diversifying. “Everyone needs respite; both children and adolescents, young adults, but also adults. The aging of the population is an issue with which we are also confronted,” continues Ms.me The way.
This dispatch was produced with financial assistance from the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for News.