Université du Québec à Montréal
EN-10: Community Partnerships

At UQAM, social commitment is part of our DNA. Beyond Community Service, employees are at the heart of initiatives that stand out, in particular UQAM's commitment to homeless people in downtown Montreal, where our pavilions are located. In fact, UQAM’s Prevention and Safety mission is to promote the maintenance of a healthy and safe environment, in order to contribute to the achievement of the University's mission by favoring collaboration.

UQAM is concerned about its involvement with the community and more particularly with people with precarious status, homeless or living in social exclusion. This is why, our Prevention and Safety Service has a training plan on homelessness and best practices for UQAM’s security guards. This CPI accredited program (training for non-violent crisis intervention) is also available to UQAM’s students and employees, so that they can better manage people with mental health problems.

It is also for this reason that UQAM partners with the Social Development Corporation (SDS), a non-profit organization and the only social broker in North America, in order to to find solutions to homelessness and social exclusion by creating innovative projects.

Action Mediation is a social mediation program, offered by the SDS, which consists of the deployment of a team of psychosocial workers and adapted services near large buildings and public spaces in downtown Montreal with 2 main objectives: 1. Help people in situation homelessness encountered in their reintegration process. 2. Ensure optimal cohabitation between the different users of the buildings, residents and homeless people.

The social mediation recommended by the SDS allows a helping approach by the intervention teams, by empowering and referring the person met, to social organizations in a personalized way according to their needs. From June 17, 2020 to June 16, 2021, the university is participating in the action mediation program and is offering financial support of $ 7,600.00 Canadian for the project. Actions include the development of a plan for targeted areas to intervene located on the university grounds and the intervention of a team of psychosocial workers in problem areas.

Interventions take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. in summer and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter. The files are followed up at the SDS offices as well as a personalized intervention plan for each case requiring supervision. A connecting shuttle is available every evening between December 1 to April 1 to accompany homeless people to available shelters. To ensure everyone's safety, the program is coordinated through liaison with the university's security officer and the City of Montreal Police Department. In figures for 2019, 127 interventions took place with people experiencing homelessness on the grounds of UQAM or within its campus and 68 syringes were collected. In 2020, 449 procedures took place and 177 syringes collected.

Also in partnership with the SDS, from March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021, actions that mainly target people from the indigenous community in a precarious situation are carried out so that they are taken care of. An amount of $ 3,000.00 Canadian is offered by UQAM. There are two main areas of support for these people: mediation and referral. Mediation is a social program that aims to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness while facilitating cohabitation between the different living environments in Montreal. Referral consists of referring the person you meet to a service or a most suitable resource to help them in this case indigenous specific organizations.

Not applicable