LaSalle
- 74,280 people
- 3rd step in process
- $343,989 invested
About LaSalle
TAKING CARE OF THE ESSENTIALS
Located in the southwest sector of the island and bordered by the St. Lawrence River, LaSalle has some of Montreal’s most populated areas. Vulnerable families can be found scattered throughout the territory, where poverty is both hidden and diffuse. The result? LaSalle is rarely seen as a neighbourhood with significant needs. Added to this reality are demographic changes, i.e., many newcomers and an aging population, that have put increased pressure on insufficient resources. The neighbourhood is counting on growing collaboration to meet the population’s increasing needs.
To combat poverty and the social exclusion it generates, the neighbourhood has made some essential issues part of the community fabric: deploying collective actions in food security, promoting knowledge of assistance resources available to citizens, and reinforcing structural connections between neighbourhood stakeholders.
Discover LaSalle’s key projects
Timeline
Pilot phase for the food hub
A pilot phase is implemented in fall 2021. The goal of this phase is to reinforce the client intake system, create support networks, and adequately support people receiving assistance by meeting their nutritional needs and accommodating their eating habits.
Food aid is aimed at seniors in particular. A large proportion of these clients have dietary restrictions (diabetes, gluten intolerance, allergies, etc.) that prevent them from visiting food banks.
“Thanks to the food aid service, I can now get my medication and I have started eating meals again.”
-Ms. S.T.
Autumn 2021COVID: Agility and solidarity
When the pandemic triggers severe service disruptions throughout Montreal, workers in Lasalle act quickly to keep food assistance going:
- Special phone line set up for food aid requests.
- Framework created for emergency food assistance operations to guide agencies in the sector.
- Specific food assistance service developed by the Centre du Vieux-Moulin to support people aged 50 and over.
Building relationships with food businesses
A map of grocery stores is created in collaboration with a Dawson College research group.
This exercise leads to relationships with local food-business owners and, by extension, to connections with vulnerable and isolated people who regularly shop at their stores.
2020Concrete actions
Created in 2018 to promote collaboration around food issues, the Coordinating Committee organizes monthly meetings with all of the territory’s stakeholders to implement concrete actions.
2020A food hub for everyone
The project starts to take shape, as the priority is to maintain a continuum of food security services. Many services are provided informally, and their hours are limited. What’s more, the foods available at convenience stores are not always acceptable from a nutritional, social or cultural standpoint. The community starts taking action to find structural solutions to these issues.
This project is an opportunity for different agencies to work in complementarity and collaborate by allowing everyone to contribute their specific expertise.
2019Key players engage in the process
The Centre du Vieux Moulin, through the Table de développement social de LaSalle, agrees to act as trustee for the project’s funding.
The Centre’s mission is to improve aging-associated conditions and help improve things like seniors’ food security and independence.
2018The neighbourhood's target project: “Working together for food security”
The goal of this project is to better align food security services to help people become more self-sufficient when it comes to food. To achieve this goal, projects will reinforce the skills of families (cooking and diet), community agencies (support for individuals) and the community (collective work).
Avril 2017LaSalle is chosen
LaSalle is chosen to receive moderate CIP support to implement a specific project from its neighbourhood plan. This project will produce concrete results to reduce poverty and social exclusion.
March 2016