Foster families from diverse backgrounds urgently needed in Montreal: Batshaw

The Batshaw Youth organization is launching an appeal for foster families in Montreal who can take in non-French-speaking youth.

The need is most urgent in Montreal North, Rivière des Prairies, Montreal East, Verdun, Lachine and Lasalle, according to the non-profit.

Those requiring placement include babies, children and teenagers, some of whom are siblings. Batshaw serves the portion of Montreal youth who don't communicate primarily in French, so they're looking for families from a wide variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds, including Indigenous households.

"We have clients that come from different cultures, from different religions, from different sectors, communities, and we're trying to find, as much as possible, homes that match their needs," said Batshaw coordinator Marc Helde in an interview, explaining that placing a child in a family with a similar background can help ease the transition.

Helde says Batshaw currently has about 330 foster families in its roster, with roughly 620 kids in the foster program.

"At this point, the demand is somewhat going a bit more than the number of homes we're able to recruit," he said.

"That means we don't have [a lot of] wiggle room to play with."

Any families interested in opening their homes should contact Batshaw at 514-989-1885 ext. 1139.