The struggle for popular education centers

Six popular education centers, is the popular education workshops Plateau, the popular education Carrefour Pointe Saint-Charles, educational and community center René-Goupil, the Education Committee adults in the Little Burgundy and St. Henri (CEDA), Social Committee and the South Central Community Education Pavilion Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, and two agencies (La Maison St-Charles and La Maison du Partage d'Youville), risk closing their doors at the end of their leases and seeing their funding decrease.
These closings would have a profound impact on neighborhood life, because these centers help out by offering either food services, popular cuisine, clothes or other, low cost room rental. But also, they educate through workshops, lessons, training, organized outings, etc., they fight for the defense of housing rights, to food, they give French language lessons, IT and others. We want to eliminate organizations that are essential to the social life of a neighborhood and that, Furthermore, keep people from falling into misery and loneliness.

Several community groups are established in these former neighborhood schools which have become popular education centers, housing committees, advocacy groups of all kinds. But these pillars cannot survive without the amounts they receive; in the event of the end of the grants, many of these gathering and learning places will be left without premises and will therefore have to close. Furthermore,
consequently, communal workers-
to hush up, already insecure, risk losing their jobs.

The government, through the Montreal School Board (CSDM), attack the poorest, community workers, as well as those living on the minimum wage who, because of rent increases and food prices, are going to have to work 60-80 hours per week to arrive, as is the case in the United States. These people will no longer be able to turn to an organization in their neighborhood to help them, thus immersing them in an isolate- financial and social. It is certainly not by eliminating those who help the less well-off survive that poverty will be eradicated..

In recent discussions, we offered a two-year agreement, one year of good funding and the second year, "Self-management", either in a word : figure it out
to pay the taxes, electricity and heating of these old buildings which already require
repairs. Faced with the refusal and the discontent that took place on May 1, general strike day in Quebec, and the actions that preceded this day, the Couillard government gave them a year of reprieve. What the government has in store for us in a year ? Is it a ruse to divide and forget their very important struggle for a united neighborhood?

We must mobilize, fight to prevent these closings in our neighborhoods. Here are some places that have decided to fight for their survival and that will need your support within a year:

• InterCEP
http://www.icea.qc.ca/site/tags/intercep :
If you want to know the center of your neighborhood, here is an organization that brings together all popular education centers.
• The Center-South Social Committee (1710 Beaudry)
Page Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/sauvonslecomitesocial?fref=ts
• The CÉDA (2515 Delisle)
514-596-444
• The Carrefour de Pointe St-Charles (2356, Center Street)
514-596-4444
They have a Facebook page : Save the Carrefour de Pointe St-Charles.
Their lease ended on 31 May 2015 + cuts

And the two organizations :
• The Maison St-Charles (1945, Mullins)
Would see its vocation changed to that of a school, so all the groups would be thrown out on the street.
• The House of Sharing of Youville (2325, Center Street, local 002)
514-935-9846
This neighborhood food bank would close, lack of funding.

Social, Volume 3, May 2015