Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Véronique Couture, and I'm the executive director of a community organization, a transitional housing facility in Granby, Quebec.
We provide transitional services to people coming from a prison, hospital or detox centre. Our clientele is mixed but is mostly women at the moment.
Our needs have obviously increased considerably because of the pandemic and a lack of services over the past two and a half years. Our biggest problem is a lack of regular funding, which means we don't have enough staff in the house. We are funded by the Government of Quebec's support program for community organizations. However, we need funding from elsewhere to help us move forward and go further in the services we provide.
It's very complicated to apply for grants and to be accountable. We are left with very few resources. Case workers can't do their job because they have too much office work to do, and they have to deal with endless requests, so we recommend that the funding come to us more quickly.
Personally, I came here with a lot of candour, and I feel like I'm not as prepared as the people around me. However, my requests are very real and urgent: women and girls need mental health care and in different areas, so the funds need to come in quickly.
We talked about sexual assault earlier. Ninety per cent of our clients have been sexually abused as children or youth. So we need to help these people become empowered in a way that they never were before. We need education in schools. We need people who know how to care for Canadian girls and women and guide them to the right places at the right time.
I'm making a heartfelt plea: we need many more resources to help these women and girls.
In closing, I'd like to talk about something a little more personal, as I deal with this situation every day with my eldest daughter, who isn't able to get help. I can tell you that services are lacking, not only because of a lack of funding, but also because of a lack of awareness and understanding in schools and universities.