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PRÉVENTION CDN-NDG6767 CH. DE LA CÔTE-DES-NEIGES #598,MONTRÉAL, QC,
H3S 2T6514.736.2732
FAX: 514.736.2734
5580, chemin Upper Lachine.Montreal, QCH4A 2A7
514.489.6567
E-MAIL:[email protected]
VISIT US ON THE WEB:Website:
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Volume 12 , March 2019Nexus CDN/NDGNexus CDN/NDG
In this edition:
Éco-quartiernews
Safety Tips
Conference update
Visit fromDalila Awada
Interview withBernard
Besancenot
Latest Podcasts
Terri’s Two CentsWhy you should subscribe to all of Pré-vention CDN-NDG’s communicationstools!:
These days, there is so much informa-tion available in so many forms; socialmedia, websites, e-newsletters, podcasts,etc. It can be easy to get overwhelmedby all that is out there!
Part of each employee’s role at Préven-tion CDN-NDG is to communicate up-coming activities, services and news inthe community. We are always trying tofind the best way to inform our resi-dents.
At Prévention CDN-NDG, we haveMANY communication tools! We ofcourse have our website, where we try tokeep all of our information as up to dateas possible. You can take a look atwww.preventioncdnndg.org and see allthe projects that we run.However, some information nevermakes it to the website as it is short-term or immediate information that’swhy we share on our social networks.
Since all of these different communica-tions tools were developed to share dif-ferent information, we encourage you tosign up for all of the Prévention CDN-NDG communication tools! These in-clude:
Twitter®: Prévention CDN-NDG et Éco-quartier NDG
Facebook®: PréventionCDN-NDG, Éco-quartierNDG, Mobilisation Walkley-Fielding Mobilization, TheDep Podcast
Instagram: Prévention
CDN-NDG, Éco-quartier NDG, Mobi-lisation Walkley-Fielding Mobilization,The Dep Podcast
Podcast: The Dep: Soundcloud, iTunes,Spotify
Newsletter: Nexus (please send anemail to [email protected]), Éco-quartier NDG(please send an email [email protected]), Walkley-Fiel-ding (please send an email to [email protected]).
There may be a little bit of overlap ofinformation (some e-newsletter Nexusarticles are shared on the website blog),but I promise that all of the informationthat you find out about your neighbor-hood will be well worth it!
- Nikki Schiebel (for Terri Ste Marie)
Page 2 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG6575 SomerledSuite 206514-486-2727Keep Your Pantry Cool and Bug Free
Damaged brown bin
Maybe it is time to clean yourpantry!If you have an organized pantry,not only will it make meal planningeasier, it is also good for savingmoney, time, and will keep youhappy, healthy, and thinking posi-tive. Keeping it clean will also re-duce the chances of having mothproblems or other food contami-nants. The items you will need for apantry clean-up are as follows: sponges, vinegar, baking soda,basin or bucket, soap and hotwater, paper towels, shelf liners,dishtowels, and a trash bag. Now let’s get started by followingthese simple tips:Start by removing everything fromyour pantry and put all of youritems on a table, countertop, andany other clean surface;Get a clean washcloth or spongeand fill a basin or bucket with hotsoapy water. Another good clean-ing solution is 1 part vinegar to 5parts water or for tougher stains,mix ordinary baking soda withwater;Clean all storage surfaces and floorwith your washcloth and dry with adish towel;If you want to paint your pantry,the best colors are grey, white orlight blue. These colors work bestfor a small space;Before replacing items, wipe each
one with a damp cloth and dry witha dishtowel. The best method forkeeping items fresh is by labellingwith a date;The best before dates on fooditems refer to quality, not safety.The dates tell you how long a prod-uct will retain its peak freshness,nutrition content, color and textureloss. Expired foods may not be safeto eat and will not taste their best.
If you choose to throw them out,put them in your composter andthe clean packaging goes into therecycling bin in most cases;Go through all of your spices andkeep only the ones you will use. Itis also a good idea to date and labelthem;When replacing containers and re-stocking your pantry, place heavierthings on the bottom shelves or thefloor of the pantry. Veggies likepotatoes and onions stay theirfreshest in a cool dark place like apantry and should be stored in
open bins;Once your cleanup is finished, it isa good idea to scan your pantry for5 minutes each week and make alist of items that you need. Thisway you can avoid buying multiplesof the same thing and wastingfood.
Now that your pantry is fresh andclean, here are a few ideas on keep-ing it that way:To use up all of the items you haveon hand, make a list and plan mealsaround them;It is a good idea to invest in adozen Mason jars, and some sortof shelving unit to put them on(Omar and Tupperware make goodshelves);One rule to follow is anything thathas been in your pantry for morethan 1 year has been given itschance, get rid of it;Use cookie sheets to group itemsand to help avoid spills and leaks;Fill your pantry with items that youlike and will use. When you restockyour pantry, buy only items that arefor the season or coming one;Items to get rid of are expiredcondiments, unneeded items andold stale food or multiples of thesame item.Here is wishing you a great 2019,keep only happy thoughts and bewell!
- William Roy
If the cover of your brown bin is bro-ken or gnawed, call 311 or Éco-quartier NDG to be placed on therepair list. If the handle or the bodyof the bin is broken, return yourcleaned brown bin to the Éco-quartierNDG to get a new one.
Page 3 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG6575 SomerledSuite 206514-486-2727The dangers at home
There are many household prod-ucts specially designed to facilitateour work. Experts warn that manyof them are toxic, so you mightwant to either avoid them or limityour contact with them. Here is alist of such items and suggestionsof how you can replace them!
Teflon-lined pots & pansSince food does not stick, thesepans can you time when washing,but at high temperatures, polyte-trafluoroethylene, the substancethat makes teflon non-stick, emitstoxic gases that can affect long-term fertility and even promotecancer and other health problems.Opt for stainless steel or ceramicpot and pans or, if you need to useteflon-coated pots, cook foods atlower temperatures and make surenot to scratch them.InsecticidesIf you have noticed insects or antsin the house, it is common to thinkof using an insecticide. However,because they can affect your health,try a natural solution instead of atoxic one. Prepare your own solu-tion from fresh mint leaves andvinegar or lemon juice. Insects hatethe mixture. Antibacterial productsThey are full of chemicals, but theyhave spread around the world be-cause of people's exaggerated fearof not getting sick. Scientists warnthat long-term use of antibacterialsoaps and gels reduces immunityand may create superbugs. It ismore ecological and healthier towash with soap and water.Air freshenersThey contain a mixture of chemi-cals, such as phthalates, known tocause hormonal abnormalities, re-
productive problems and birth de-fects. Instead, you can make your own byusing water, baking soda and driedorange peels. Put it in a spray bottleand mist away!Baking soda is also effective for re-freshing the air in your home,alongside countless other uses. Itnaturally absorbs unpleasantodours. Put half a cup of a bakingsoda in a jar, pour 10 drops ofscented essential oil and mix well.Cover the jar with paper, bind itwith a rubber band then make afew holes in the paper with a nee-dle to spread the fragrance throughthe room.
Oven cleanersThey are so powerful that just in-haling them can lead to healthproblems. The US National Insti-tute of Health has listed a few:breathing difficulties, severe sorethroat, pain or burning in the nose,eyes, ears, lips or tongue; loss of vi-sion, vomiting, abdominal pain, ir-ritation, severe changes in the levelof acid in the blood, etc. A naturalsolution to cleaning the oven canbe found in a cooking ingredient:baking soda! Simply sprinkle bakingsoda in the oven, splash with water,let sit for 20 minutes. Come backand scrub with an SOS pad andpresto, its clean!
PerfumesMost perfumes are chemically pre-pared in a laboratory, in the hopeof accurately mimicking naturalsmells. One study revealed 38 se-cret chemicals in 17 known fra-grances. The result of the creationof perfumes in a chemistry labora-tory? Hormonal problems, allergicreactions (many substances havenot been evaluated for the safety ofpersonal care products), accumula-tion of substances in human tissuesand breastfeeding.Essential oils can be an eco-friendlyalternative for classic perfumes asthey have an extremely strongaroma. Here are some of the mostappealing scents:Jasmine is among the most coveted.Its sweet and floral scent helps re-lieve your anxiety and can relaxyou;Roses. If you like roses, this is theoil for you! It is very concentrated,two drops normally suffice;Orange. Its fresh, citrus smell cananimate you and elevate yourmorale. Because it is very concen-trated, it is advisable to mix it withanother type of neutral oil such asalmond or jojoba oil before app-lying. Bleaching clothesEliminating stains, bleachingclothes and removing mold can beso simple with bleach. However, in-haling it can cause irritation of theeyes, skin and lungs. The fumes caneven lead to accidental intoxication(50,000 including 8 deaths in oneyear in the United States).To bleach your clothes naturally,cut two lemons into slices and putthem in a bowl with hot water. Addyour white laundry and let it soakfor 40 minutes. After soaking, put Continued on page 5
Page 4 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG6575 SomerledSuite 206514-486-2727March 22 is World Water Day!
Created by the United Nations in1993, World Water Day raisesawareness about the inequality ofWASH (Water, Sanitation and Hy-giene) access and reminds us of thehuman right to water and sanita-tion. Its goal is to inspire people tolearn, discuss and take action onwater related issues. The global water crisis affects all ofus. Today, 2.1 billion people do nothave proper access to drinkingwater while 4.5 billion do not haveproper access to sanitation services.In the future, these numbers willincrease rapidly if we don't act. World Water Day includes all kindof activities; different publications,short films, talks, seminars, exhibi-tions and so much more. Everyonecan take part on this day by show-ing their efforts to solve water is-sues. Therefore, we prepared a listfor you as to how you can reduceyour water consumption in all as-pects of daily life.
- Don’t clean the street, sidewalk oryour driveway with a hose - use abroom instead; - Always wait for full loads whenrunning your washing machine anddishwasher. This one is pretty obvi-ous; by using your washing and
dishwasher less frequently, you willsave a lot of water. Use a lower set-ting on your dishwasher and wash-ing machine. Most of the time youdon’t even need the normal settingof your dishwasher to get yourdishes clean. Most dishwashershave an ecological setting as well;- When buying new devices pay at-tention to their water balance.
Every machine you buy, for exam-ple your dishwasher or washingmachine, has a water efficiencylevel. Try to buy one with lowwater consumption;- Consider your diet. Buy localfood. This saves water since thefood doesn’t have to travel a hugedistance. Eat less meat. One kilo-gram of beef requires 16,000 litresof water (that is at least one yearworth of extensive showering everyday) to get on your plate. Having a
few vegetarian meals each week willreduce your water usage imprint;- Fill up your own water bottle. In-stead of buying bottled waterwhich, again, has to travel a hugedistance, fill up your own waterbottle. Each bottle of water thatyou buy requires 7 litres of water tobe produced (including the plastic);- Buy recycled paper products. Re-cycled paper uses significantly lesswater than new paper without re-ducing the quality;- Water your lawn with a hose or,better yet, a watering can instead ofusing a sprinkler. By watering yourgarden with a hose or watering can,you can pay attention to only wa-tering the areas that really needwater;- Ride a bike or use public trans-port. Riding a bike to work is notonly great for the environment butalso benefits your health.
As you can see it is not hard at allto save water in your everyday life.Everyone can join in to make animpact. It is the small changes thatcount. Please make a difference!
- Simon Simon Rathgeber (Éco-quartier language intern)
Zero waste grocery store in Montreal: LOCO!Two years ago, four students in en-vironmental sciences at UQAMcreated a project (LOCO) to launcha zero-waste grocery store in Mon-treal. The concept was simple, cus-tomers come with their owncontainer to shop at the store. Theproducts are locally sources andoften organic. The their first gro-cery store in the east end was agreat success and a second grocerystore opened in Verdun. LOCO
currently offers containers (with arefundable deposit) and com-postable paper bags, but the goal isfor each customer to pack theirfood in their own container.
Here in NDG, in addition to theCoop Maison Verte, there are localstores that allow you to bring yourown container. Please considerbringing not only shopping bags,but also reusable containers for
many of your purchases. The food sector produces a lot ofwaste. Between the chain of pro-duction and the final sale, there isan enormous amount of food thatis wasted. Reducing the distancebetween producers and consumersthrough a grocery store that doesnot use packaging is a first step inconserving resources and reducingwaste!
- Adèle Mongeau
Page 5 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG6575 SomerledSuite 206514-486-2727Are compostable bags problematic for the food waste collection?The food waste collection has cre-ated a market for oxo-fragmentablecompostable bags. These bagsbreak down into small particles.Although these bags represent animprovement for the food wastecollection, they are not an optimalsolution because their decomposi-tion is too slow – their disintegra-tion time is greater than the timefood requires to transform intohumus. In addition, the non-trans-formed bag particles persist in theenvironment and may take manyyears to degrade.
The composting centers who treatour food waste must therefore en-sure that the compostable bags thatthey receive are opened when theyarrive at the center. This conditionis essential to produce quality com-
post. Currently, only 20% of bagsfound in the food waste collectionare compostable. The City of Mon-treal has not banned the use ofcompostable bags.
In order to facilitate the compost-ing process, the best option is touse paper bags or newspaper whichbiodegrade quickly. Of course, youdo not have to use bags at all if youprefer. There are other ideas for improvingthe composting process that are
used elsewhere. Here are some ex-amples :In Novia Scotia, a law prohibits theexport of residual materials, whichmeans that landfill fees are higherthan in Quebec. Thus to avoidburying food waste, compost in-frastructures are highly developedand the collection is well managed.In France, fragmented oxo bags areprohibited. The current standard(EN 13432) provides that biode-gradable plastics used for compostmust leave only CO2, water andnon- toxic organic material at theend of the biodegradation process. In Italy, compostable and bio-sourced biodegradable bags havebeen sold at the supermarketcheckout since 2011.
- Adèle Mongeau
the laundry in the washing machineand wash as usual. Lemon is a veryeffective natural bleach, which doesnot destroy the textile fibres.AntiperspirantsAbout these, it's good to know thatthey contain chemicals, such as alu-minum chlorohydrate, that can beabsorbed through the skin and pro-mote breast cancer. It is believedthat aluminum contained in an-tiperspirants causes brain damage.Other toxic substances found indeodorants and antiperspirants areparabens, which promote the devel-opment of carcinogenic cells.Parabens are also linked to gas-trointestinal problems, nausea anddiseases of the central nervous sys-tem.Natural deodorant : deodorantwith shea butter.Ingredients: - 3 tablespoons of co-conut oil - 3 tablespoons of
sodium bicarbonate - 2 tablespoonsof shea butter (found in naturalfood stores) - one teaspoon ofstarch (optional) - a few drops ofessential oil for odor. To prepare: Put in a heated pan(possibly bain-marie), shea butterand coconut oil. Warm it up a littleand mix well. Add baking soda andstarch (optional). Mix well, thenadd a few drops of essential oil(lavender or other). Put the entiremixture in the fridge, then transferto an old deodorant container orjar.Shampoos, conditionersMany hair care products contain in-gredients such as sodium lauryl sul-phate, which has been associatedwith cancer.Homemade shampoo: You need:a quarter cup of coconut milk - anatural vegetable soap - 4 drops ofrosemary essential oil - 4 drops oflavender oil - 4 drops of cedar oil -
4 drops of chamomile essential oil.Simply put all the ingredients in abottle and shake very well. You canuse this shampoo for a month. Donot forget to shake it before eachuse.Hair conditioner with coconutoil:Get rid of rebellious hair with thishomemade conditioner. Put 50 mlof coconut oil in a spray bottle andapply it on wet hair before dryingand styling. After a week, replacethe coconut oil to make sure all thevitamins in it are fresh and effectivefor your hair.
Other harmful substances com-monly used in hair care productsare polyethylene glycol and co-camide.
- Adina Badescu
From page 3
Page 6 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG
Call for vigilance and safety tipsPrevention of residential breaking and entering
Neighbourhood police stations 1and 26 ask the citizens to exercisevigilance to prevent residentialbreaking and entering. Following afew events that happened in Townof Mount Royal, Outremont, andCôte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, it turns out that ill-inten-tioned individuals have broken inand entered by posing as mer-chants, peddlers, or offering ser-vices such as knife sharpening ortelecommunication repairs. Al-though this activity is strictly pro-hibited in certain boroughs, theseindividuals still do it. When theyring and no one answers, they finda way to enter through a back dooror by any other means, and proceedto rob the house, without attractingthe attention of neighbours whothink the person is a seller.
The Citizens are invited to reportany suspicious activity in theirneighbourhood by calling 911 im-mediately, or their neighbourhoodpolice station: station 11 (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce) at 514-280-0111 and station 26(Town of Mount-Royal, Out-remont and Côte-des-Neiges) at 514-280-0126.
Neighbourhood police stations 1and 26 thank the citizens for theircooperation and assure them thatthey are making every effort tostop these criminals.
Safety Tips:Residential BurglaryA burglary is when someone ille-gally enters a place such as a homeor a business and steals someoneelse's belongings.
A break-and-entry is when some-one illegally enters a place for thepurpose of committing a crime:theft, assault, etc.
What to do? - If you are the victim of a bur-glary, call 911 immediately; - If you witness the burglary, de-scribe the burglar and the burglar'sescape route; - Do not touch anything until thepolice arrive.
Prevention tips Advice- Make sure your exterior doors arewell lit. Avoid having bushes, treesand fences around your home –they may provide hiding places forburglars;- Use automatic light timers –they're easy to install and inexpen-sive;- Engrave your valuables – yourneighbourhood police station willlend you an engraver for free. CDscan be marked with indelible ink;- Install a security system to alertyour neighbours of the presence ofintruders;- The officers at your neighbour-hood police station will help youidentify the vulnerabilities in yourhome and take measures to fix
them - for free!- If you are going away for a longtime:Ask someone you trust to pick upyour mail;Cancel your newspaper subscrip-tions;In winter, have your walkway andbalcony shovelled;In summer, have your lawn mowed;
FOR SENIORS WHO SELLTHEIR PROPERTY THEM-SELVES
Safety tips - When selling your home, beforeaccepting visits, get information onthe individual(s) (name, currentplace of residence, job, etc.);- Do not let people into your homefor a visit if they do not have anappointment or if you are homealone. When a visit is scheduled, leta relative know of the date andtime of the visit and of the infor-mation you have about the visitor;- Be aware of what people aredoing during the visit.- Do not accept any gifts, drinksor food from a potential buyer.- Make sure you have easy access toa phone to be able to dial 9-1-1 ifthe individuals refuse to leave yourhome of if there is a problem;- If you are the victim of theft, donot attempt to defend yourself. Co-operate with the suspect(s);- Try to memorize as many detailsas possible about the suspects anddial 9-1-1.
To schedule a free home safety in-spection call us at Tandem: 514-736-2732 or email [email protected]
Page 7 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDGPrévention CDN-NDG, was there!
On January 23rd and 24th theCrime Prevention Conference washeld in Quebec City by the Ministryof Public Security. Two of our em-ployees, Jessica and Mahélie wentand would like to share their expe-rience and observations with you.
This conference welcomed ap-proximately 200 people from allover Quebec. There were provincialand regional police officers, ou-treach workers, community wor-kers, and many others. Both,Mahélie and Jessica agreed that thesetup of the overall conference wasnot ideal for making new connec-tions and partnerships. However,they did meet some very interestingpeople with whom they expressedtheir views, and shared their strug-gles and work experience regardingintervention and crime prevention. This two-day conference highligh-ted the necessity for communityworkers to work together and to becreative in their search for newpartnerships and practices. Theidea is to overcome the limitationsthat each institution/organizationhas, while focusing on the commongoal of putting the needs of thepeople they seek to help first.
Many of the conferences werebased on practices in rural and su-burban areas, which did not seemto mirror the reality of an urbansetting. However, there were somesimilar challenges that arose in theconferences, and also innovativeways to approach them that eve-ryone could be inspired by.
Some speakers also addressed thetopic of social media, but it wasstill marginal during the confe-rence, while Mahélie and Jessica feltit should have been a priority.Given the importance of socialmedia and its presence in daily life,it seems relevant to them to thinkabout crime prevention and the on-line world. Annick Kerschbaumer
(Sexologist in a primary school inRivière-du-loup) stressed the im-portance of following the evolu-tion of online sextortion practices;suggesting cybertip.ca alerts to stayup-to-date on online trends. DannyLévesque (web outreach worker foryouth aged 12-25 in Québec) raisedthe importance of using the appro-priate web platforms to do hiswork whilst maintaining a profes-sional relationship with the youth.This dimension is one that eve-ryone is facing in one way or ano-ther, which means it is important toincorporate it in our work.
To conclude, it is important to re-member that it is possible to re-think the practices; they are notcast in concrete. Let's be creative!Do not be afraid to recognize yourlimits (mandate, time, energy, re-sources, ...) and use the partner-ships built over the years.Remember: “Alone, I go faster; together, we gofurther”.
- Jessica Di Bartollo Rouillierand Mahélie Caschetto-Lamoureux
New Hampshire students are coming to Montreal!For the 7th year in a row, the Éco-quartier NDG will have the plea-sure of hosting a dozen highschool students from New Hamp-shire during their March break(March 5th to 8th). If you can be-lieve it, the students are given achoice as to where they might liketo volunteer (usually there are activ-ities in Mount Washington, France,Boston, Dominican Republic aswell), and they choose to come toMontreal in the winter!
The students range in age from 14to 16 years old. They will volunteerduring the day, helping out withwhatever Éco-quartier NDG needs.Over the years, the students havedone a variety of projects, andevery year the Éco-quartier needsvary a little bit. This year the stu-dents will likely go dumpster divingfor empty water bottles and thenmake sample eco-cleaners for resi-dents. They might also inspect foodwaste bins to inform residents if
there is anything found that cannotbe composted. They will likely alsohelp to clean up the neighborhoodby cleaning up a commercial streetlike Sherbrooke (unless there is stillso much snow on the ground!).
If you see the New Hampshire stu-dents in NDG, please be sure tosay hi (in English if possible, asthey don’t speak much French!)
- Nikki Schiebel
Page 8 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDGDalila Awada visited girls from Place aux Filles!Girls from Place aux Filles werevery excited on Tuesday, January29th. They were waiting for the ar-rival of Dalila Awada, who kindlyagreed to come and answer an in-terview the girls had prepared a fewweeks earlier.
As part of this Place Aux Fillesproject, teenage girls are expectedto meet inspiring women to whomthey can relate. Dalila has been in-vited because she is an empoweredwoman who is involved in hercommunity. She co-founded theParoles de Femmes Foundation,which creates and supports spacesfor action and speaking for womenwho are racialized, and she is also a
columnist for the Métro newspa-per, all the while pursuing her stud-ies in sociology to become ateacher. However, she is bestknown for her public stance on therights of women, especially Muslimwomen.
The girls had a good interview, andasked her about her journey andthe obstacles that stood in her way,and Dalila explained how she hadovercome them, thanks to her will-ingness and a caring environment.
The exchange largely revolvedaround the theme of adolescenceand the concerns that young peopleof this age can have when they are
ambitious girls. The issue of cyber-bullying was also discussed becauseit is a common phenomenonamong teens, and because Dalilawas a victim. She gave them a les-son in tenacity by telling them whatshe had to go through before shewon her defamation suit in thesummer of 2018!
Everyone came out enthusiasticfollowing this exchange, a mutualenrichment for both the girls andfor Dalila, which ended with ashared meal.We warmly thank Dalila for com-ing, and the participants for theirattention and participation!
-Juliette Paume
Count Me InIn the summer of 2019, Andreea,the Hearts in Action project coor-dinator, Miranda, the street workerfor NDG seniors, and Jessica, theTandem urban security counselor,will join forces to lead the CountMe In program.
This program developed by theCentre de recherche et d’expertiseen gérontologie sociale (CREGÉS)and the research team « Vieillisse-ments, exclusions sociales et soli-darités » (VIES) aims to promotethe social participation of olderadults. We will draw inspirationfrom the animation guide to struc-ture the program. Thus, individualinterviews will be followed by eightgroup workshops aimed at increas-
ing participation in the communityby encouraging participants to de-fine their needs, interests andstrengths. They will cover the fol-lowing topics:
1) Social participation;2) Identification of strengths (inter-ests, abilities and resources);3) Community resources;4) Adaptation to aging;5) Financial management;6) Communication;7) Social network;8) Community activism.
These sessions will be followed byvisits to community resources andcommunity centers that will allowparticipants to apply the knowledge
acquired. A video project will top itall off and will give them the op-portunity to be creative in sharingtheir experiences. Count Me In willgo hand-in-hand with the practicesalready in place at PréventionCDN-NDG.
Indeed, our community workersaim to involve seniors in activitiesthat break isolation and encourageresidents to take part in the growthof their community. We are very excited to take part inthis project! Registration for theprogram will begin shortly, staytuned!
- Andreea Zbarcea
Page 9 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDGInterview with Bernard from Multicaf
Prévention CDN-NDG's trainingcommittee has given itself themandate to interview borough ac-tors to introduce them to you inthe Nexus a few times per year. Forthis edition, I met with Bernard Besancenot, who works at Multicafand who is very implicated in theissue of homelessness.
Annie: Hi Bernard, Thank you foraccepting to do the interview!To start, how long have you beenworking at Multicaf, and what isyour role in the organization?Bernard: I have been working atMulticaf for 11 years, but my rolehas changed. Right now my role iscoordinating the social and com-munity services. At Multicaf, thereare the community lunches, thefood bank, meals-on-wheels for se-niors and everything that is food-related. Through that, we want tomeet people, identify their needsand try to answer them in a per-sonal or collective manner. My roleis to coordinate all that. Also, partof my job is to do consultationwith other organizations.
Annie: You are very implicated inthe issue of homelessness. Sincewhen have you been interested inthat issue?Bernard: I don't know, for quite awhile (laughs). I think it was in2012, when the need was felt forsomething to be done in the neigh-bourhood.
Annie: Can you tell us more con-cretely about your implication andyour actions in the cause of home-lessness in Côte-des-Neiges?Bernard: Well, how could I say...Why do people come eat at Multi-caf? Because they don't have
money. Why don't they havemoney? Because a good number ofthem spend most of their money inhousing and, for most, their apart-ments are unhealthy. If a personlives in an apartment in which thereare mice, bedbugs and other ver-min, mould and all that, to me it's aform of homelessness in the sensethat there is not a roof which isstable, safe, healthy, etc. This is thecase for most people who comehere. So from the moment that wegive them food, we are doingsomething for them.
On another level, what happenedvery concretely in 2012, the policecame to see us because the watergames had just been installed in thepark. They told us that there werepeople who were showering in thewater games and that there was agood chance they were from Multi-caf and something needed to bedone. That's when we did a firsthome study to see the reality ofhomelessness in the neighourhood.That allowed us to conduct a studyin partnership with UQAM, whichallowed us to get a bit of moneyfrom the City to make a portraitwith the stakeholders in Côte-des-Neiges. We held a forum in 2016,and then we made a document withthe forum’s conclusions and afterwe made an action plan.
In parallel to all that, we created 2consultation tables, one with thefront line workers, the second oneto conduct further research and seehow we can solve things at a morestructural level.Also, I'm on the Board of Direc-tors of RAPSIM (Réseau d'Aidepour Personnes Seules et It-inérantes de Montréal). I partici-pated in the follow-up committeeof the 2nd homelessness count andI'm part of the CIUSSS committeefor access to health services for thehomeless. We have a program hereto pair homeless or at risk peoplewith resident doctors at St-Mary'shospital. We also just wrote a chartfor the 2 consultation tables. Andfinally we got an outreach workerin homelessness. Now we are start-ing to speak about having housingdedicated to homelessness.
Annie:What do you love mostabout your work?Bernard: Vacation, euh no!(laughs). What I like about mywork is relations, PR, meetings. Forexample, it wasn't concretely usefulfor me to be at the committee forthe 2nd count, but I met a bunchof people there. I'm not the onewho is going to change the accessto health services for the homelessat CIUSSS Centre-Ouest but I amthere with people. It's the creationof a network that link people to-gether. Anne Anderman (doctor atSt-Mary's), I met Anne because shedoes visits in Côte-des-Neiges withthe doctors in residence and I wentto meet them. We talked and wethought that we could create prox-imity clinics and things have fallen into place. It's a job of link-ing people together, it often takestime, like for the outreach worker,Continued on page 11
The Dep Podcast : the last episodes
Page 10 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG
Relationship talkChris, Kimmy, Tracy and Leonardospeak about love, about having atype, about the usage of Tinderfrom a single woman’s perspective.They also compare the past and thepresent of dating.
JoshuaJoshua shares his story about howhe got to Canada. He shares how
he was able to find his passion inacting due to a theater class anddiscusses his plans for the future.
Anouare Abdou The Director of Operations atGoalcast shares her success storyon the steps she has taken to be-come a real boss in this area of ad-vice and practical resources toimprove all aspects of your life.
If you want to share your story,contact Karl Thomas at [email protected]
iTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/ca/pod-cast/the-dep-podcast/id1435754230?mt=2Soundcloud:https://soundcloud.com/the-dep-podcast
- Karl Thomas
Earth Hour 2019: Saturday, March 30th from 8:30-9:30pmSince 2007, millions of peopleacross the world have turned offtheir lights for one symbolic houron the last Saturday in March -Earth Hour. Every year, this mas-sive collective effort reduces theworld’s energy consumption forone hour, and shows us that inworking together, we can use lessenergy. Across the Island of Mon-treal you can see such iconic itemssuch as the Hydro Quebec signturned off to celebrate the event.
I invite you to celebrate 2019’sEarth Hour with the lights off. Itsounds like a crazy idea in the mid-dle of winter, but as the gesture issymbolic, no one is asking that youturn off the heat! There are lots ofthings to do during Earth Hour.You could go stargazing, have anacoustic music jam, tell stories orjust sit quietly reflecting on howdependant we are on electricity andtechnology. It's up to you and your
creativity as to what you can do inthe dark!
Last year a friend told me how hespent his Earth Hour. Sadly, I thinkhe missed the point as he spent thehour on his laptop. Although hedid not need to plug it in duringEarth Hour, he missed the point ofconserving electricity.
Turning the lights off for EarthHour is a great first step, but if youreally want to see a difference, then
make Earth Hour part of your ev-eryday life! Here are a few simplesuggestions to save money and re-duce emissions:
Switch to compact LED or fluores-cent light bulbs. They use up to75% less energy than an equivalentincandescent bulb;Unplug appliances while not in use.Appliances on standby consumeelectricity;Turn off anything that doesn’tneed to be on (lights, TV, com-puter, etc);Adjust your thermostats. Put on asweater, get a programmable ther-mostat;Use less hot water. Install a low-flow showerhead and tap aerators.
If each of us is careful about theamount of energy we use, we canreduce our impact on the Earth!
- Nikki Schiebel
Page 11 of 12 Nexus CDN/NDG
we were hoping to get him soonerbut in the end it worked because Imet a lot of people. I wouldn't stopsaying that we needed an outreachworker and finally I met someonefrom City Center who thought it wasa good idea. They gave us only halfof the money so I went to the Bor-ough and the new mayor told me “ahyes when you presented the actionplan I was there and I found it inter-esting”. That's what I like, the linkbetween people that makes it that inthe end things move, not always fastbecause consultation takes time, butthey move.
Annie: Are there things related toyour work that you sometimes finddifficult?Bernard: It's when things don'tmove and that we don't have money.Like for the outreach worker, Iwanted two but we were only able toget money for one. The whole thingabout buildings also, if we hadmoney we could buy a building anddo something and it would be awe-some. These are the frustrations, it'sslow, especially for the money issue.
Annie: If we imagine ourselves 20years in the future, what are yourhopes regarding the homelessnesssituation in Montreal? Bernard: In 20 years I hope I willnot be homeless (laughs).Honestly, unless there is a majorchange in society, and a collectivemutual assistance from the entirepopulation, there will always be peo-ple who are marginalised, who findthemselves in bad situations. Butwhat would be good would be achange in public opinion.I was talking with a former deputeeand told him I didn't understand whygovernments didn't invest moremoney to fight poverty because, even
if it's not done out of compassion, itcould be done with an economicconcern. He told me that he agreedwith me, but that it couldn't be donebecause there is a social acceptancethat is not there. Money would haveto be taken from taxes and then peo-ple who work would ask themselveswhy would we who work and put allour energy into going to work everyday and still have trouble paying ourmortgage, why would we invest inpeople who do nothing?That mentality exists and it existsstrongly. For me, if we were able tochange that mentality, we would behalfway to solving the problem be-cause that is the reason why so littlemoney is invested in homelessness.That is also the reason why peopleturn their heads away when the see ahomeless person. So if I had a dream, it would be for achange in people's thoughts and thatthey stop having this prejudice.
Annie:What changes would you liketo see in the neighbourhood?Bernard: Housing. We need housingdedicated to homelessness but,mostly, we need the housing that al-ready exists be in good shape becauseit's a big plague in the neighbour-hood.
Annie:Now a few questions toknow Bernard behind the shirt bet-ter. What is your favourite season?Bernard: It depends because thesedays it's not easy with the climatechange... I like fall, but when it's a realnice fall, with a nice 16 degrees and asmall wind, a nice sun, nice colors.
Annie: Are you more a man of thecity or of nature?Bernard: Both. I like the city for thelife it's got, I like nature for the quietit's got. I don't think I could live inthe country, I would get bored. But
when I can't go to my cottage for aweekend, I'm unhappy for the wholeweek that follows.
Annie: What is your dream traveldestination?Bernard: I would like to visit thegreat american parks, it's my dream. Iwould like to do that in a Winnebago,so I don't have to stay in hotels, tohave more freedom. Otherwise Iwould like to go to the North Coast,go up where there is tundra, see cari-bous, see the wild side. Or go seeYukon.
Annie: What did you want do do fora career when you were a kid?Bernard: I wanted to conduct an or-chestra.
Annie: For real? Do you play music?Bernard: No (laughs). I sang in achoir as a kid. You know, as kids wehave dreams and I was fascinated bythe guy in front of his orchestra.(Bernard imitates a conductor bymaking large movements with hisarms and sings the first notes ofSymphony No. 5 by Beethoven).
Annie: Finally, how many cups ofcoffee a day do you drink?Bernard: Only one. Sometimes two,if I go to a meeting in the afternoonand there is coffee.
Annie: Ah that's why I had the im-pression that you always drink coffeebecause I often see you in meetings, Ialways see you with a cup of coffee. Ithought I would get you with thatquestion...
Thank you very much to have takentime to meet me, and thank you forthe great work you do in the neigh-bourhood!
- Annie Thifault
From page 9
-- -PREVENTIOCD N·N D G
N
Annua
M
l General M
di l 27 2
Meeting
2019
Mercr
WednesdaCentre St-R
redi le 27 mars 2019(13h30)
ay, March 27, 2019 (1:30 pm)Raymond 5600 Upper Lachine
514 736-2732www.preventioncdnndg.org
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