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Starting in January, Montreal’s 211 helpline for community and social services will be able to connect citizens and business owners with a squad that deploys psychosocial mediators to respond to situations on the street.
The city announced Tuesday it will expand its Équipe mobile de médiation et d’intervention sociale (ÉMMIS) to three more boroughs in 2025 and gradually to all 19 boroughs by 2028. By that time, the number of people working for the squad is expected to grow to 90 from the current 52.
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Already deployed throughout the métro network and four boroughs (Ville-Marie, Plateau-Mont-Royal, Sud-Ouest and Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve), ÉMMIS will be expanded to the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough by next year. The two other new boroughs to be covered by the squad next year have not been named.
The expansion will cost $50 million, split evenly by the province and city between 2025 and 2028.
ÉMMIS already responds to nine calls per day on average. Roughly 15 per cent of those calls come from businesses. The team responded to 1,075 incidents throughout the métro network between February and June.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Heather Johnston, executive director of the Information and Referral Center of Greater Montreal, explained that anyone on the island will be able to make a request for ÉMMIS through the 211 helpline even if their borough isn’t covered by the service yet. If someone calls from one of those boroughs, they will be referred to the appropriate community resource.
“We have a team of experienced counsellors, so we will be able to refer them to where they need to go,” Johnston said.
Reacting to the announcement, the city’s opposition party decried that it has taken so long for Mayor Valérie Plante to expand the ÉMMIS service across the city, saying the money for the resource has been available for two years.
“Once again, the most vulnerable are paying for the poor management of Projet Montréal,” said Benoit Langevin, Ensemble Montréal critic for homelessness issues.
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