MONTREAL -- Quebec’s Les Petits Freres received a Christmas Day gift from the Quebec government on Wednesday.
Minister responsible for seniors and caregivers Marguerite Blais announced $500,000 in new annual funding for the organization while attending a Christmas lunch in downtown Montreal.
The funding will allow the organization to form new teams in St-Jerome, Drummondville, Granby and Gatineau in addition to improving existing teams in Laval, Longueuil, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivieres.
Blais called Les Petits Freres one of the government’s most precious partners “in matters of social geriatrics.”
“Among people age 85 and over, 50 per cent say they suffer from loneliness and the work of Les Petits Freres is magnificent because it makes it possible to forge intergenerational links between the youngest and those over 75,” she said.
The organization supports more than 1,600 seniors across the province through a network of 2,000 volunteers. The average age of the seniors served is 84-years-old.
With the new funding Blais said the organization hopes to identify more than 1,800 new seniors in need of support and recruit more than 700 new volunteers.
“Studies show that across Canada it is in Quebec that the isolation rate for seniors is the highest,” she said.
Les Petits Freres has offered support for isolated seniors for 57 years, helping them to leave their homes, receive visitors and go on trips.
