Family members are frustrated by news that a seniors’ drop-in centre at the CLSC Rene Cassin at Cavendish Mall will close at the end of the month.
The roughly 40 people who use the centre consider it to be a second home. A number of the regular visitors suffer from dementia or have other health issues, and go to the centre to get out of the house, socialize with others and even get help with exercises.
The time they spend there also provides much-needed respite for caregivers, giving them time to themselves.
The CLSC is now part of a larger umbrella group, the Centre integre universitaire de sante et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) Centre Ouest de l'Ile de Montreal, created by Bill 10 Health Minister Gaetan Barrette’s overhaul of health care bureaucracy, which is in charge of nine health care institutions including the Jewish General.
CTV Montreal has not been able to reach anyone with the CLSC or CIUSSS for comment. Glenn Nashen, a CIUSSS spokesperson, emailed a statement to the Gazette saying the centre’s closing is part of a “reorganization.”
However it’s unclear what services will still be available for people who want and need them, but Barrette has said the money is there, so it’s not a budget issue.
