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 labour shortage doesn't just impact corporations and small businesses. Community organizations are impacted as well. Among them is the West Island Crisis Centre, which is forced to close over the holidays due to a lack of staff.
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When a burst water pipe flooded the newly renovated West Island Crisis Centre days before last Christmas, half the centre was destroyed. The clients living on-site were transferred to other locations and counsellors worked from home while other staff reorganized the services they offer to West Islanders in crisis. For the clients and staff, it was all a déjà vu.
“The flood happened overnight, same as COVID. I was at work Friday, March 13 (2020) and suddenly everything just stopped,” said Noémie Rondeau, the centre’s clinical coordinator. “We were in the same situation as when the pandemic started. What can we do with our clients? How will we be able to stay open? It was the same questions.”