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Since 2004, the urban and social revitalisation approach in the St. Michel neighbourhood aimed to change the neighbourhood in order to allow residents to experience a better quality of life, to live in a healthy physical and social environment, to blossom and have a say in their development and their future. After four years of mobilization and achievements, the citizens and partners of the St. Michel neighbourhood undertook a second planning process for the period 2009-2012.
In order to identify the main areas that would be part of the new action plan, work groups were formed. More than two hundred people participated to identify the new challenges that await the neighbourhood. Concerned with continuity, the approach hopes to closely engage citizens in a way that builds on the actions of the previous years, is focused on the fight against poverty and social exclusion and is open to external participation.
For more information on Vivre Saint-Michel en Santé, visit their website here.
Haiti Earthquake Response
As many residents of Montreal’s St. Michel neighbourhood have ties to Haiti, Vivre St. Michel en santé found itself in a coordinating role after the January 12 earthquake.
Five committees were set up to help local organizations respond to immediate needs of members of the Haitian community in the neighborhood, to organize a demonstration of solidarity, to strategize for the softening of federal immigration rules for Haitians affected by the earthquake, to raise funds and to coordinate information on initiatives related to Haiti in the St. Michel neighbourhood.
As director Yves Lévesque said, “Once more we are showing the capacity of the St. Michel neighborhood to mobilize itself and to show solidarity.” Read more (in French) here.
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