The projet

The project involves the construction and administration of a Multifunctional Assisted-Living Centre for the Disabled and Vulnerable Persons (the Centre).

The primary purpose of the Centre is to offer, in collaboration with the community, assisted housing for handicapped and vulnerable persons and for autonomous and semi-autonomous by creating a living environment conducive to their development.

To ensure its long-term self-financing and the improvement of its infrastructure and activities, and thus ensure its viability, the Centre intends to integrate commercial premises, spaces for professionals and community organizations, all in a safe and secure environment.

The Centre's project is part of an environmental approach as well as in its architectural design and implementation.

Heritage-type construction, combining both noble materials such as massive natural stone and wood, the building's architectural signature structure, with its community and dynamic spaces that promote the well-being of its residents, will become a strong point of interest for the City of Gatineau and a source of pride for its citizens.

Objectives

The main objective of the Centre is to offer safe and accessible housing, in a living environment open to the community and adapted to the specific needs of disabled and vulnerable people wishing to live in an environment that promotes their autonomy and development. More specifically, the project aims at a series of objectives that promote the autonomy and social and community participation of disabled and vulnerable persons, such as:

promoting inclusion through social participation and community integration of residents to ensure the development and maintenance of their autonomy and allow them to take ownership of their life project,

offering a stimulating, friendly and inclusive living environment, characterized by openness to diversity (social, cultural, economic), mutual aid and support,
offering a living environment adapted to the needs of each and everyone to develop, strengthen and consolidate their potential in the face of the different facets of life (physical, physiological, functional, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual),
providing a living environment open to the community that promotes residents' ties with other citizens and the Centre's resources, including businesses and community organizations, to maximize the individual's development,
providing services adapted to the needs of disabled and vulnerable people in order to compensate for their functional limitations, and to meet their quest for independence to help them realize themselves as active and integrated citizens,
providing a living environment open to the community that promotes residents' ties with other citizens and the Centre's resources, including businesses and community organizations, to maximize the individual's development,
providing services adapted to the needs of disabled and vulnerable people to compensate for their functional limitations, and to meet their quest for independence to help them realize themselves as active and integrated citizens,
meeting the critical need of parents and caregivers concerned about the future of their young adults with special needs,
breaking isolation and create a bond of belonging to allow vulnerable young adults to continue their lives in peace, even when their parents are no longer around, and
providing adequate housing and related facilities for low- and middle-income individuals living with special needs but no behavioural problems.

The clientele

The project is mainly aimed at autonomous and semi-autonomous disabled and vulnerable persons with a potential for integration and social participation.

In addition to regular remote monitoring, clients will be able to benefit, on a 24/7 basis, from assistance services in their daily activities and domestic life, without requiring ongoing care and specialized services.

The location

The Centre must occupy a privileged location located in the heart of the City of Gatineau, on a large area. This land must provide a stimulating living environment through the creation of a park and sports and recreational facilities that promote community participation and the social integration of the Centre's disabled and vulnerable persons.

To facilitate access to the community and social participation by residents, the designated location must be close to many services such as a public library, a sports and recreation centre, food markets, public transit, and banking services.

Presence of structuring equipment

The identified area stands out for its proximity and interrelationship with downtown. It also shares certain attributes similar to the city centre in terms of social diversity, centrality, and the marked presence of socio-community facilities, while presenting particularities in terms of commercial service and affordability.

The services

The organization of services

Partnerships and consultation are essential at the main stages of consolidation and development of social and community housing units with community support for targeted clienteles. They facilitate mobilization.

Domestic life activities:

Daily living activities: Support to varying degrees for eating, hygiene, and organizing a day.
Domestic life activities: help with meal preparation, housekeeping, laundry, taking medication, etc.

Concierge Services

Housekeeping of the Centre that does not compromise the health and safety of residents.
Necessary repairs and maintenance of the Centre that ensure the health and safety of the Centre's tenants and users.

Food Services

Meals (breakfasts, lunches, and dinners), prepared by the Centre, will be offered to tenants.
The Centre will offer varied menus in accordance with Canada's Food Guide.

Surveillance and Security Services

Qualified staff will be present 24/7 to meet the needs of tenants.
An individual call bell system in each room and bathroom will ensure a response to specific physical assistance needs, allowing the assistance of a staff member responsible for emergency calls to be quickly met at any time. This staff member will be physically present in the Centre.
A fire safety plan will be developed and kept up to date.
An emergency procedure will be developed and kept up to date.

Civic support

Civic support will be provided by the Centre's staff and volunteers, including making appointments, accompanying them outside the community, social outings, etc.

Community and Recreational Services

Various animation or entertainment activities, adapted to the profile of the clientele and promoting socialization, will be offered to the Centre's tenants. The infrastructure and activities envisaged are, for example, a swimming pool, tennis, soccer, community gardens and outdoor areas, a game of petanque, mini-golf, billiards, a music room, an arts and craft studio, a gym, social outings, etc.
Partnerships will also be developed with organizations in the region to offer services and activities to tenants.

Professiona Health Services

The Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO) will be responsible for offering professional services to the Centre's tenants, as it already does for the entire population. However, the Centre will facilitate and always allow health or social services professionals chosen by tenants as well as health and social services network stakeholders to have access to tenants, for example, to assess their psychosocial needs, monitor their health status or provide them with care or services. This accessibility must be ensured for both professionals in the public health network and those in the private sector.
Mobile first aid kits, kept clean, complete, and in good condition, which are easily accessible to staff and marked with a distinctive sign allowing their rapid identification.

Social utility

The Centre's project is part of a broad questioning of collective social and economic profitability. Gatineau benefits from the increase in its population of its territory, but this position also has negative repercussions. For example, rent costs remain the highest in Quebec. In recent years, many households in the region have faced increased problems of affordability to quality and reasonably sized housing. The situation of vulnerable and disabled persons is equally problematic and urgent.

Economic and social benefits

The contribution of subsidized housing projects is widely recognized as a lever in the fight against poverty and social inequalities. It is an affordable rental offer and promotes social integration. In general, this type of initiative is seen as a vehicle for both social and economic development.

The implementation of this initiative will have significant economic and social benefits for our community. The scale of the project and its innovative concept will bring concrete benefits to the community and contribute to the social and economic development of the region. Given the limited supply of this type of housing in the Outaouais region, this project is part of a major improvement in the supply of subsidized social housing.

Social impact

The project will allow better access to housing services with personal assistance services where the local supply is insufficient to meet the needs of the territory.

For disabled and vulnerable persons in need of community support, access to housing adapted to their needs and financial capacities is a central element in the process of taking charge, and of improving or maintaining living conditions.

Community housing interventions provide better access to housing, promote the development of social ties, and can lead to employment. In addition to preventing social isolation, the project will help foster social cohesion in this district, create a multiplier effect of the recreational activities offered, and demonstrate the potential for self-organization that a community can have on its territory. The residential stability and access to community support services provided by this type of housing project leads to a reduction in the use of public services, such as hospital, police, or judicial services, and promotes integration into society.

The proposed social and community housing formula will provide an opportunity for residents to meet at meetings (of the Board of Directors, Annual General Meetings, and other committees) or during certain tasks and activities. Being involved in a collective project provides opportunities for personal and professional development and social participation. The very configuration of the physical environment (the appearance of the building, its location close to services, the sharing of an outdoor courtyard and common rooms) contributes to generating proximity and friendly neighborhood relationships that break isolation.

The development of links during these meetings generates rich social relationships that can turn into networking and mutual aid. This in turn strengthens the sense of security and belonging, both for families and for people with special needs. We want to position ourselves as pioneers in the field of social housing, by creating not only housing, but also a living environment that promotes the development rather than isolation of vulnerable persons.

Economic impact

Much more than a public expense, community housing is an investment with lasting economic benefits such as:

it stimulates the construction and service sectors, creating jobs and generating property taxes (according to the Société d'habitation du Québec, each dollar of its subsidy programs represents $2.22 in investment, this, only in the construction sector and every dollar spent on social housing represents $2.45 in spending on goods and services),
it supports and consolidates the development of social economy enterprises,
the more affordable cost of rent compared to the private market allows households to free up money that they can spend on other essential expenses (food, education, health, clothing), thus combating poverty by increasing the disposable income of low-income persons,
it saves costs associated with certain other government missions (poverty, homelessness, persons with disabilities),
it makes it possible to develop local and regional expertise in this sector of activity, and
it responds to a range of needs, in a complementary way to private sector interventions, while being part of the vision of a dynamic and inclusive city.

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