Two community organizations unite

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Over the next three years, the number of seniors over 65 years old in the West Island is projected to rise 21 per cent, from about 26,000 to 31,500. These statistics give the new partnership between Volunteer West Island (VWI) and l’Équipe Entreprise (EE) all the more reason, said VWI director Paul Bissonnette at a news conference at the EE office in Dorval last Thursday.

Since 1969, VWI and a small group of volunteers started delivering hot meals to seniors in the community through the Meals on Wheels program. Today, the program provides nearly 50,000 hot and frozen healthy meals to about 1,000 seniors every year, with the help of over 800 volunteers.

“One of our primary goals is to help seniors,” Bissonnette said, pointing out that reduced autonomy often causes difficulty for seniors who have stayed at home to eat healthy. “One of the first things that breaks down is the food.”

In the West Island for over 10 years now, l’Équipe Entreprise (EE) provides work to people with mental health problems, to help them obtain work experience and improve their work habits and self-confidence. Services offered by EE include catering, customer service, services for seniors, and the production of healthy frozen meals.

“We were already preparing meals, so we’re thrilled about this partnership,” said Marie-Claude Wilkins, director of EE, which will now be supplying VWI and the Meals on Wheels program with frozen meals. The initiative between the two organizations will allow more seniors to be served, and will provide more work hours for people with mental illnesses, Wilkins explained. “Just as seniors are increasing and their needs have to be met, so are people with mental illness,” she said.

The meals, which are prepared with quality ingredients under the supervision of a professional chef, have been approved by dieticians to provide seniors with the portion sizes and nutrients they need. “They are very popular with seniors,” Wilkins said.

According to Bissonnette, Meals on Wheels delivers between 200 and 300 meals per week, all the way from Lachine to Ste. Anne de Bellevue. This usually takes volunteers about two and a half hours on delivery days.

“This is the most rewarding job,” said Meals on Wheels volunteer driver John Pecho while he loaded up his car on Thursday morning.

With the months of work that both organizations have put into finalizing the partnership, Bissonnette said he is optimistic about the future.

“The quality is there, and the reputation is there,” he said. “There’s no reason it shouldn’t be a tremendous success.”

To contact l’Équipe Entreprise, call 514-636-1081, or send an e-mail to equipeentreprise@bellnet.ca. For more on Volunteer West Island, call 514-457-5445, or visit www.volunteerwestisland.org.