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
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.