2023-10-31 04:00:00
Runaways from youth centers have jumped 134% in Quebec in three years, a situation attributable to the lack of manpower and the resurgence young people in difficulty, according to speakers who are struggling to keep their heads above water.
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“Things are not going well on the ground […] The centers have become daycare centers for adolescents, we are no longer able to offer them adequate services,” maintains a specialized educator from the South Shore of Montreal who spoke to Journal under cover of anonymity.
In 2020, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) recorded 3,126 runaways in all of its CIUSSS and CISSS. This number increased to 7,313 in 2022 (see table).
The vast majority of these lasted less than 24 hours and are caused by repeat offenders. However, distress is growing, both among young people and among those involved.
Runaways from youth centers at the CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches have increased by 256% in three years.
Stevens LeBlanc / Le Journal de Québec
“Before, teenagers came home for 6 months to 1 year, then they moved on to something else. Today, we no longer have time for rehabilitation. Their behavior gets worse, they stick around longer and it clutters up the units,” says the speaker.
“It’s a wheel that turns endlessly. We are just as negligent as a system as the parents of these children who are at the origin of the children’s placement,” he sighs.
“As long as there are adults”
The Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS) – which represents nearly 90% of stakeholders in the sector – confirms the precariousness in which Quebec’s youth centers currently find themselves.
The significant staff turnover caused by poor working conditions makes it impossible to establish a bond of trust with young people, it is explained.
“There are some places where they are forced to call on security guards to compensate for the lack of specialized educators. It’s dangerous ! » deplores Sébastien Pitre, treasurer of the APTS.
Sébastien Pitre, treasurer of the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services.
Photo provided by APTS
“But as long as there are adults…” he says, referring to the comments mentioned by the Minister of Education about adults in each class at the last school year.
Added to this was the government’s establishment of a team specializing in processing reports to reduce waiting lists. Good news in itself, except that the units are already overwhelmed.
Possible solutions
While most regions are affected to varying degrees by this increase in runaways, it is in Bas-Saint-Laurent that the situation is most alarming. We observe an explosion of 1100% of these events between 2020 and 2022.
The causes of this disparity would be multifactorial, but the APTS believes that the closure of the only intensive support unit in the region would have something to do with it.
Kevin Coulombe, youth accommodation coordinator at the CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent.
Photo provided by the CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent
The situation is improving, however, underlines the CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent. The organization hired a specialist in good practices with runaways, reviewed its programming to interest young people and added staff.
“We are already starting to see the effects. I am hopeful that we will end the year with fewer runaways than last year,” says Kevin Coulombe, youth accommodation coordinator for the CISSS.
Worrying growth almost everywhere
Years : 2020 2022
- Bas-Saint-Laurent: 43,519 (+1107%)
- West Island of Montreal: 12 68 (+467%)
- Outaouais : 242 982 (+306 %)
- Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine: 0 3 (+300%)
- Chaudière-Appalaches: 133,474 (+256%)
- Montérégie: 906 2509 (+177%)
- Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean: 76,167 (+120%)
- Capitale-Nationale: 291,508 (+75%)
- South-Central Montreal: 812 1318 (+62%)
- Laurentians: 25 39 (+56%)
- Estrie: 86,127 (+48%)
- Abitibi-Témiscamingue: 142,208 (+46%)
- Lanaudière: 81,100 (+23%)
- Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec: 21 25 (+19%)
- Laval : 212 242 (+14 %)
- North Shore: 44 24 (-45%)
Total (provincial) : 3126 7313 (+134 %)
Many repeat offenders
Years : 2020 2022
- Number of different young people who have run away: 874 1294
- Number of total leaks: 3126 7313
Short-term escapes
Years : 2020 2022
- Less than 24 hours: 2180 6021
- From 24 hours to 48 hours: 301,485
- From 48 hours to 72 hours: 179,195
- More than 72 hours: 466,612
Total : 3126 7313
Source: Ministry of Health and Social Services
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