Tragic Neglect: Montreal Woman Found Dead Among Trash Piles after Failed CLSC Assistance

2023-09-05 19:30:00

A vulnerable Montreal woman was found dead in her home among “a mountain of trash” five months after asking her CLSC for help to get out of her unsanitary home, without getting anything.

“At no time [elle] did not obtain the necessary assistance requested from the CLSC de Montréal-Nord”, laments coroner Rudi Daelman, in his report published this summer.

In July 2021, a 58-year-old woman suffering from several mental and physical health problems was found dead in her social housing in Montreal North. At the request of his relatives, The newspaper agreed not to reveal his identity.

The latter had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, under control, but she also had anxiety attacks which in turn led to heart palpitations, difficulty breathing and tremors which made her lose her balance.

After five falls in a few weeks in January 2021, she was hospitalized. When he was discharged, the medical team requested mental health assistance from the CLSC de Montréal-Nord.

Urgency to intervene

Living alone and with a weak support network, the 50-year-old needed help decluttering her home. The coroner notes that there was “a certain urgency to intervene to help him” because of his state of health.

She received a call from a social worker at the Adult Mental Health Access Center (GASMA) on February 3 to assess her needs. It is then agreed that we will call her back to offer her various resources.

Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency

According to the notes sent to the coroner, two social workers then tried to reach the woman by telephone on February 5, then on June 4 and 9, 2021.

“Four months passed before a second attempt to get in touch with [elle] ultimately be undertaken by a social worker,” says the report. “Apart from attempts to get in touch by telephone […]no other steps are taken”, continues the coroner.

“Pathetic”

Paul Brunet, of the Council for the protection of the sick, describes as “pathetic” the passivity of the CLSC towards the vulnerable woman. “We escape,” he denounces, about the lack of support.

When the police entered her home, after a week without giving any news to her relatives, they discovered “unsanitary, messy accommodation and that there is a mountain of waste on site”.

Coroner Daelman recommends “diligent, effective and in-person follow-up” for people requiring mental health follow-up. His anxiety and respiratory spasms are believed to have contributed to his death.

By e-mail, Marie-Hélène Giguère of the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal maintains that the quality of services and the safety of users are “our top priorities”, even if the damning findings of the coroner suggest the opposite.

The sociologist and former coordinator of the Accorderie de Montréal-Nord organization, Salim Beghdadi, had known the woman a few years ago, when she took part in workshops.

“We did not know in what conditions she could live,” he breathes, insisting on the importance for the health services to go there and to strengthen support for vulnerable people.