A respite centre in Pierrefonds that serves those with autism and other intellectual disabilities says it's in desperate need of funding from the provincial government.
The Angelman Respite Centre offers care-taking services to people when they're temporarily unable to take care of their loved ones with intellectual disabilities. Director and head of their foundation Sophie Dubé said that most of their funds come from private donors, but she hopes to see more funding from the Quebec government.
"We're always scrabbling for grants, partnerships, it's a full-time job," Dubé said.
She says the centre could also use help from Partage-Action, which funds 41 public-service groups in the West-Island.
Demand for services hasn't been this high since the centre first opened three years ago and Dubé hopes the government will become more receptive once they make another demand for funding in September. The lack of funds has created a deficit for the centre and means more are left on waiting lists.
"We'd love the government to be a little bit accountable for services to our special population," Dubé said. "This is a community service that we're doing, and the fact that we're absorbing all that deficit is not normal and is not quite fair."