Lending a helping brush to revitalize apartments for young mothers

After years of mental health struggles and surviving a near-fatal overdose, Vicky Harvey says that the Coeur à soeur (CAS) program gave her the opportunity to “restart” her life.

“The difference is enormous and the quality of life too, I feel happy… I began to be able to buy things again to be able to move into an apartment with my kid,” she said. “I was uncomfortable in my own skin before Coeur à soeur, I was missing a lot of confidence and now I have some, but despite that I’m not at 100 per cent. I don’t think anyone is ever at 100 per cent, that’s a daily job.”

CAS has helped over 1500 women since 2010. It’s run by Welcome Hall Mission (WHM) and about 100 people use the service each year. The program is tailored to each individual and helps with basics like diapers and formula, while others might need help with housing or counselling.

A hundred and twenty volunteers came out on a sunny September Saturday. They descended upon Montreal from all over Canada to hike up their sleeves and pitch in.

The event was organized by the Home Depot Foundation in partnership with WHM. Jean-Michel Martin manages the Home Depot store just a few hundred meters away from the apartments, which also donated new light fixtures and microwaves. 

“You can see the vibe, its a party here, we have a lot of fun, but its part of our values at Home Deport,” said Martin, also underscoring that the volunteers chose to be there on their day off. “We want to give back to the community where we have a store.”

There was a lot of ground to cover and it was buzzing with productivity. Russell Taggart made the trip from the maritimes to help out.

“I hope our paint job is good enough I’ve been doing some of the edging, its not perfect, but its close,” said Taggart, adding that this was a great experience.

There are 26 apartments and about 100 women that use the service each year. They usually stay for about three months at a time, but can stay up to one year. The program is solutions-based and tailored to each individual.

It’s a transitional housing program explained Chelsea Dufort, manager of marketing and communications at WHM.

“People move through and eventually find permanent housing, that’s the goal and that’s what Vicky has done,” said Chelsea smiling. “She’s a success story and we are really proud of her.”

Harvey is in charge of her life with has a job that she loves, caring for her 3-year-old son and living in her own apartment.

“Don’t be shy to call and reach out for help because there’s surely something that can help you in the program,” said Harvey. “You can’t lose hope.”

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