In April, spring flooding in Lévis, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf and the Laurentians forced a number of families out of their homes.
Some of the more financially vulnerable families saw their homes almost completely destroyed by the disaster. They now face the difficult task of repairing, moving, or rebuilding their existing homes, or buying a new home elsewhere. To help them at this difficult time, a special program from the Fonds Desjardins d’assistance aux sinistrés has just approved a total of $150,000 in aid.
Each eligible family can receive up to $2,000 on top of the financial assistance available from the Quebec ministry of public security.
The Red Cross will run this new Desjardins program and distribute vouchers that can be exchanged for basic necessities like accommodation, food, clothing and health and hygiene needs, in keeping with their usual relief efforts.
The Desjardins Disaster Relief Fund was created to provide exceptional financial assistance to members and clients in difficulty following a disaster. In addition to providing financial assistance for individuals, in 2012, the fund’s relief efforts were expanded to include helping communities hit by major disasters.