Montreal crisis line closes for first time in decades amid critical staff shortage
A 24-hour crisis help line in Montreal is being forced to close for the first time in nearly 35 years because too many staff members are either on sick leave or burnt out.
The holiday closure was difficult but necessary, according to West Island Crisis Centre President Deborah St-Martin.
“They're doing double shifts, they're calling in sick, we have three people on sick leave, so we knew that the holidays were going to be very hard,” said St-Martin, who added that the temporary holiday closure was a difficult but necessary choice to make.
The West Island Crisis Centre will close Friday and hopefully reopen Jan. 3.
Ordinarily, it offers round-the-clock assistance, fielding 1,500 calls each month. The centre also offers emergency housing.
But St-Martin says the centre is short staffed, and those who remain are just too exhausted to work.
“With COVID-19, nobody's applying for the jobs,” she said. “There are still openings in the public sector, so they're leaving to go to hospitals, CLSCs, and stuff like that.”
Intervention centres province-wide are experiencing labour shortages. Some are calling on the government to increase funding so that local organizations can raise staff salaries.
Timing is critical, they say, as public demand for mental health services is increasing.
“Our responders have more calls coming in, and it is directly related to the pandemic,” said Kathy Laramee, Deputy Director of Suicide Action Montreal.
Suicide Action Montreal partners with the West Island Clinic. She says it’s still too early to say whether the closure will affect their call volume.
The regional health authority says it is concerned about the closure, writing in a statement to CTV that “the mental health of Quebecers is being put to the test with the emergence of the new variant and because the holiday season is an especially difficult time for some.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.