The move was uneventful, and yet, very meaningful. So say members of the PRAIDA team, who this summer brought hundreds of asylum seekers from their temporary Place Dupuis accommodations to a new, specially adapted living environment in Port Royal.
Though the smooth move took but a few days, it resulted from months of planning, preparation and communication among various CIUSSS teams. Technical Services, notably, installed furniture, while ensuring the new accommodations are up to code and meet the needs of employees and residents.
What awaited the busloads of 350 asylum seekers at the Port Royal location (near the Sauvé metro station, adjacent to PRAIDA’s administrative offices) was a far cry from their prior temporary hotel accommodations: the first-ever facility fully designed by PRAIDA to meet clients’ needs. This A-to-Z planning prioritized comfort and tranquility for the 700 residents who now occupy the site at full capacity.
Amenities include bright, spacious bedrooms with individual beds (not bunkbeds), common lounges, two large rooms for activities and workshops, computer rooms on each floor, a daycare and breastfeeding room, and a large cafeteria.
This configuration brings asylum seekers closer to the CIUSSS teams that provide services. Nursing and midwifery rooms are on site, and clients can meet confidentially with health and social services staff (social workers, nurses) in adjoining offices. “All in all, we’re so pleased with the outcome: I think we created a more convivial living environment for our residents,” says Alexis Jobin-Theberge, a PRAIDAPartnership Senior Advisor.
In the photo, several staff members of the accommodation team, front row from left: Tamar Wolofski, social worker; Salma Houaichi, social workerand Keren Mombo, service assistant. Rear row, from left: Paul Guay, team leader (social worker); Bakary Cissé, administrative agent; Leila Nunes Scandiuzzi, head of program administration; Cesar Leonardo Munoz Quinones, administrative agent and Daphné Guiguère-Bossé, formerly a social work technician at PRAIDA.
