Centraide will distribute $43 million to fight poverty in the Montreal area
and intensify its support for the upcoming generations

MONTREAL, June 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Centraide of Greater Montreal announces that it will distribute $42.8 million to 354 community agencies and projects in Greater Montreal in 2010-2011, thanks to the generosity of donors to its 2009 campaign.

Despite the economic recovery, needs are still very present. The financial crisis has led to an increase in requests to community agencies for emergency help, assistance, referral and consultation. "Poverty is complex; it has many faces and is found everywhere," said Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, President and Executive Director of Centraide of Greater Montreal. "We support a vast network of agencies on the Island of Montreal, in Laval and on the South Shore to offer people in need a place close to home where they can find help."

    
    More money for children and families
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The number of children living in low-income families is higher in Montreal than in Quebec as a whole. About one in six children in the metropolitan area lives in a poor family. Centraide will therefore continue to invest the majority of its funds to help families and children and to prevent this poverty from perpetuating itself generation after generation. Some $16 million, representing about 40% of the amount earmarked for community agencies, will go towards funding 105 agencies and projects that help children and youth, support parents and improve family living conditions.

Centraide will support children and families even more by investing $230,000 to welcome five new agencies to its network:

    
    - La Maison de la famille de Saint-Léonard, a family centre which
      strengthens parenting skills and stimulates children's learning;

    - Le Groupe d'entraide de Mercier-Ouest (GEMO), which supports low income
      individuals and families in a situation of food insecurity;

    - West-Island Youth Action (AJOI), which works with young people between
      the ages of 12 and 25 who are at risk or facing difficulty;

    - Femmes-Relais, an agency in the Saint-Michel district which helps
      vulnerable and isolated immigrant families with young children 0 to 5
      years old;

    - J'me fais une place en garderie, which supports Montreal families with
      a child under 5 years of age who has a motor deficiency, a condition
      often associated with an intellectual, visual or hearing deficiency.
    

To support the work of the agencies, Centraide will also invest $3 million, or about 7.5% of the total amount to be allocated, to 48 neighbourhood round tables and initiatives which bring together the different social actors in their respective communities to improve the physical and social environment of families.

Centraide's allocations decisions are made by 60 volunteers who rigorously evaluate the agencies to ensure that their work is relevant and effective. In so doing, they take into account territorial profiles, which provide a better understanding of local social issues and help to identify investment opportunities.

The many agencies that receive funding from Centraide meet the needs of vulnerable people while providing them with access to resources and mutual-aid networks that help them to overcome their problems.

Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors which is representative of the community. Over 500,000 vulnerable people receive help and comfort from the agencies and projects in its network, which is supported by 73,000 volunteers. To find out more, go to: www.centraide-mtl.org.

For further information: Annick Gagnon, Public Relations Coordinator, Tel.: [phone], ext. 242, [email protected]