Collaboration between the community sector and the institutional sector
You have just created an alliance between the community sector and the institutional sector! This is exactly what Justice Alternative du Suroît, a community organization located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, did with the Valleyfield Campus of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est (CISSS-ME). Thanks to the mobilization of several stakeholders, the Ateliers Cré-Actions project is highly successful.
1/4
How the community sector benefits from this collaboration
How the institutional sector benefits from this collaboration
Description of the collaboration
The project was developed to be a safe anchor point with the aim of creating a social safety net for girls between the ages of 14 and 24 with combined vulnerability factors (crime, violence, poverty, drug use, isolation, etc.).
All interventions take place in an informal and structured context. The girls are in contact with volunteers or intervention workers whose life trajectory might be of inspiration to them. A social safety net is then gradually built around these girls in order to avoid isolation, to prevent crime or recidivism, to reduce the incidence of running away or its negative impacts, and to prevent sexual exploitation. This helps youth improve their life conditions by increasing the degree of protection and avoiding disruptions of service, particularly during the transition to adulthood.
Most of the project participants are referred by CISSS-ME and Justice Alternative du Suroît, as well as by different community resources in the area. Thanks to formal agreements, the community and institutional intervention workers are encouraged to create relationships of trust with youth on an informal basis during the steps taken to produce an item of clothing, which will then be sold in the shop space.
Testimonial
“Collaboration is at the heart of the project! This is one of the values that drives all our day-to-day actions. It’s the wealth of various contributions, partnerships and collaboration agreements. All of it helps to create a social safety net around vulnerable girls. For us, it is important to take care of each person involved and to be well acquainted with the partners with whom we work closely. We see each moment as an opportunity to consult with one another on the best practices to put forward, in order to better support the girls.”
— Annick Sauvé
Coordinator of the Ateliers Cré-Actions project – Justice Alternative du Suroît
Impacts of the collaboration
Conclusion
Recreating this model in other regions could lead to the creation of an interregional strategy for the social-economic reintegration of victims of sexual exploitation through collaborative actions between community and institutional sectors.
You have just completed the alliance!
We suggest that you consult the toolbox to find out more about : the benefits of creating cross-sectoral collaborations, intervention methods, and to look at the sample Memorandum of Understanding.
