The Haitian community took action after the earthquake. We set up crisis centres. We set everything up to welcome these individuals, and we asked the community and the government for help. We gave them clothing and a little money. We found people who wanted to host those individuals who did not have family here. We tried to find them a place to stay, because some people arrived in Montreal without even having one. Our duty was to welcome them and make sure that they had a roof over their head and something to eat.
Certainly the government helped us a little, but it was mainly the community that gave a lot of money to help these people. Some community organizations provide support services still today. For example, if they need to go to the hospital or fill out a form, we are there to help them. That is how we can help them.
In Canadian society, when someone has a problem, that person can talk to a psychologist. For Haitians arriving here, we are the ones who take on that role. They come to us crying and tell us their troubles. All we can tell them is that we will work with the government and the various authorities to see what will be set up. When they learned that we were coming here, it was a great ray of hope for them. They think that this will finally end, but the work will not be done at all, because they will still need support in their integration process.