Hello, my name is Nathalie Giguère. I work for PECH. PECH is the Programme D’encadrement Clinique et d’Hébergement, located in Quebec City.
At PECH, for the past 25 years, we’ve been taking care of disenfranchised people,
people in the streets, people with mental health, legal and addiction issues,
and people who are just getting out of prison or long-term hospital care.
I also coordinate a project entitled “Porte-Clés” to integrate people with chronic homelessness issues into housing
with the housing first approach that the federal government has already been prioritizing for three years.
I would say that the biggest difficulty is creating a connection with these people. It takes a very long time for them to admit their problems.
. Even with the housing first approach, people have a lot of shame and live alone.
It takes a long time before they can open up and talk about their problems, so the services are put into place little by little.
. I would like for the organizations to unite, for the community organizations to join you in providing programs, for us to have a seat at roundtables.
We want to work toward the wonderful cause of helping veterans.