The federal government will transfer $70.8 million to Quebec over five years from the Youth Mental Health Fund. This funding will help, among other things, to create four new “Aire ouverte” sites as well as a mobile unit.
There are currently 48 “Aire ouverte” sites in Quebec. These centres serve young people aged 12 to 25 and offer various services—including sexual health, mental health, and addiction services—free of charge, with or without an appointment. The centres are designed by young people. A youth committee decides on health priorities for young people in the neighbourhood and the types of service providers they want at the centre.
The new agreement between Quebec and Ottawa was announced on Monday at the Aire ouverte Montréal-Nord-Lacordaire location by Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Lionel Carmant, Quebec’s minister responsible for social services.
“This model has been a resounding success across Quebec, […] and we need more of them. And with the federal government’s generous contribution, what we want to do is expand them. Our goal was to have one Aire ouverte per RLS (local service network), for a total of 90 across Quebec. I think that over the next few years, we’ll be able to get close to that,” Carmant said during a press briefing.
He explained that this year, the Quebec government will add four new “Aires ouvertes”: a permanent site in Longueuil and another in Trois-Rivières, two satellite sites—one in Argenteuil and one in Sainte-Thérèse—as well as a mobile site in the small municipality of Huntington, located in the Montérégie region.
Carmant added that in subsequent years, the federal funding could also be used to address caregiving issues among young people, as well as for the Épanouir Project, which aims to promote mental health and prevention in school settings.
The Youth Mental Health Fund was launched in November 2024 and has a five-year budget of $500 million. It supports community initiatives across the country to facilitate access to mental health services for young people.
Michel noted that there are 120 “Aire ouverte”-type centres in nine provinces, with 50 more in development.
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–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
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