By Richard Dagenais, SAPA Communications Specialist
In October 2010, Quebec’s first helpline for older adults who are experiencing mistreatment was launched at CLSC René-Cassin. With four team members squeezed into a small office, it had modest beginnings.
Today, that team has grown to more than 20 professionals, their offices have expanded, and the modest initiative has flourished into a well entrenched program that has widened its reach and responded to more than 78,000 clients. As The Mistreatment Helpline celebrates its 15th anniversary, its staff are reflecting on how much has been accomplished in such a short time.
The government awarded the helpline mandate to CSSS Cavendish—eventually absorbed by CIUSSS West-Central Montreal—because the facility already ran a helpline for older adults who were being mistreated.
The mandate expanded significantly in 2023 when the government decided to extend help to anyone over the age of 18 who is considered to be in a vulnerable situation. This might be the result of addiction, homelessness, mental illness, a criminal record or a multitude of other factors.
The mistreatment can range from physical to psychological, financial to organizational, and from sexual to rights violations. To keep up with the evolving types of mistreatment—as well as changes in legislation and the latest intervention techniques—team members participate in about 30 training sessions a year.
Donna Schafer, SAPA Coordinator responsible for the Mistreatment Helpline, says the training addresses a wide range of mistreatment problems among diverse adults and communities.
“The team’s unwavering commitment to ongoing training is truly commendable.”
Donna Schafer
While they are introduced to the complexities of various types of mistreatment, newly hired staff are reminded and reassured that they have unlimited support from a dynamic, well structured team, and unfettered access to leaders for discussion and advice on each case, as needed.
Rachel Thadal, Manager of the Mistreatment Helpline, explains the work of their team: “From 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week, our job is to analyze, evaluate risk, ensure the person has security perimeters around them and then find the best partner in the field to come on board and help that person gradually work through the situation.”
In addition to providing help directly to victims, Helpline team members offer support and training to professionals across the province, including healthcare workers, police officers, notaries or bank tellers, who might witness cases of mistreatment.
Health professionals are required by law to report any mistreatment they observe. Ordinary citizens do not have that obligation but, says Ms. Thadal.
“We ask that people report any mistreatment they see, because it’s the humane thing to do.”
Rachel Thadal
As large as the mandate may be, the team excels at discreetly and gently helping to empower vulnerable people.
The Mistreatment Helpline is bilingual, free and strictly confidential, with the team paying close attention to the needs and wishes of callers, while fully respecting the pace of progress they prefer. Callers may choose to remain anonymous.
“Often, the victim is suffering mistreatment at the hands of someone they love, so they may be very reluctant to proceed,” Ms. Thadal points out. “We absolutely will not go any further than the caller wants, unless they are in a life-threatening situation.”
“You might say there are 50 shades of mistreatment,” says Ms. Thadal. “We have seven major categories of mistreatment, but every call is different, every person is different. Mistreatment doesn’t happen the same way for everyone.”
Ms. Thadal admits there is still a lot of work to do to establish connections with community organizations, public services, and individuals who are equipped with the proper training and resources needed to keep cases moving forward after Helpline team members hang up the phone. Familiarity with resources in every region of the province is essential to allowing the team to intervene in a timely manner.
The Mistreatment Helpline in numbers:
Calls answered since the line’s inception in 2010: 78,166
Calls answered from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025: 9,650
Increase in calls in the year ending March 31, 2025: 13.5 per cent
Calls from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 from professionals seeking training: 1,112
Ms. Schafer says she is proud of the dedication, innovation, energy and compassion demonstrated by the team. “Listening to daily calls involving mistreatment is not an easy feat, yet the team approaches every situation with care, empathy and professionalism.”
“We try to empower people to take action on their own, but sometimes the situation is so debilitating that the only step a desperate victim can take is to dial our number,” Ms. Thadal adds. “They don’t have the strength, or courage, to do any more than that.”
“Ultimately,” says Ms. Schafer, “our goal is to ensure that no case of adult mistreatment goes unheard, or untreated.”
