Association Logement Amitié
The precarious economic situation combined with psychological distress is often a critical problem when it comes to finding adequate housing and finding decent accommodation becomes a major challenge. People struggling with a mental problem are unfortunately often part of the segment of the population that has difficulty finding adequate housing.dual and collective rights are respected.
It is in 1988 that Friendship Volunteer Association Inc. gave birth to Association Logement Amitié Inc., a non-profit organization whose mean objective is to provide adequate low-cost housing units to people with a mental health problem capable of displaying autonomy in a private rental residence. It is however only on the 13th of December 2005 that the organization welcomes its first residents.
The residential resource does not limit itself in providing housing for the 42 residents, but also seeks to create a living environment that is secure, fulfilling and rich in human values.
An intervention worker ensures a constant daily presence from 8pm to 8am in order to offer rapid and effective assistance to residents in situation of distress or who simply need to confide in someone. He/she also acts as an agent of socialization to promote friendships. Lastly, he/she ensures that individual and collective rights are respected.
The day and evening center of Friendship Volunteer Association Inc. is integrated into the first floor of the residence. The residents have an easy access and benefit from all the services that are offered.
Reconstruction of the residence
Despite the installation of sprinklers and fire doors, a fire completely destroyed the residence on February 28, 2014. All residents were relocated to the community and continued to benefit from the services of intervention workers whose tasks were adapted to the new reality. The reconstruction project began in June 2018, which allowed us to move into our new residence on November 30, 2019. The residents gradually entered in small groups throughout the month of December. About twenty of them have found back their Living Environment, which they had hoped for for nearly six (6) long years. Service users from the Friendship Volunteer Association Inc. who frequent the Day and Evening Center discovered on December 7th, 2019 the new premises that have been refurbished at ground floor, just as it was before the fire. The Friendship Volunteer Association Inc. has thus once again become a tenant of the Association Logement Amitié Inc., both for the premises of the Day and Evening Center and for its offices, which are better suited to the services to be offered as well as to the mandate of the organization.
The clientele of the Association Logement Amitié Inc. is made up exclusively of people with a mental health problem. Some of them have experienced homelessness while others are considered at risk of becoming homeless. A project was submitted on August 6, 2018 as part of the NSA Mental Health Regional Plan and a grant was awarded for fifteen (15) places for people targeted by the program, which are:
– Socioeconomically disadvantaged and of all ages
– Have difficulties with social integration or participation
– Have difficulty performing certain activities of daily living
– Need services of a diverse nature and modulated over time
– May or may not have multiple issues
The selection criteria of the Association Logement Amitié Inc. stipulate that the rental services and spaces are intended for adults who have demonstrated both their capacity for individual care and their predisposition to group life and to act as good tenants. All potential residents are selected following a selection interview, which aims to assess both the person’s capacity for individual care and their motivation and readiness to accept or seek help for the realization of their life project. However, we are aware that the selected people will need support and guidance in order to continue their path of social integration in one of the housing units.
General manager since 2005
Night intervention worker on call since 2008
Night intervention worker on call since 2019
Night intervention worker on call since 2019
Night intervention worker on call since 2019
Full time intervention worker since 2006
Full time intervention worker since 2012