Brome-Missisquoi Pact 2025 awards its first $50,000 grant to support social geriatrics in the region.

Cowansville, July 9, 2025 – The MRC of Brome-Missisquoi is proud to announce the first grant awarded under the Brome-Missisquoi Pact 2025: an amount of $50,000 to support the rollout of a social geriatrics project in the region. This announcement marks the return of the Pact after a pause of more than a year, now in a renewed form with new objectives focused on fighting poverty, promoting social inclusion, and addressing vulnerability among citizens.

A renewed fund to address local issues

The Brome-Missisquoi Pact 2025 offers a total fund of $100,000 dedicated specifically to projects that tackle key territorial challenges previously identified by the Brome-Missisquoi Social Development Network, including:

• Food security
• Homelessness
• Transportation
• Access to community and social services
• Anxiety and distress, particularly among youth
• Access to services and inclusion of English-speaking individuals and immigrants

A model project built through co-construction

The social geriatrics project, led by the Regroupement Soutien aux aidants de Brome-Missisquoi in partnership with the Table des aînés de Brome-Missisquoi, is a perfect example of the collaborative approach encouraged by the new Pact. Officially launched on February 21, this initiative was the result of a co-construction process involving several local stakeholders—including the MRC—and meets the fund’s new requirement for strong local partnership.

Social geriatrics is an innovative approach aimed at supporting healthy aging by considering not only seniors’ physical and medical conditions, but also their social, environmental, and psychological realities. The approach is community-based and preventive, focused on offering comprehensive support to seniors in their living environments.

Concrete and measurable outcomes

In practical terms, the project has implemented a network of “sentinels”—community members trained to identify signs of vulnerability, distress, or isolation among seniors. When a situation is reported, an outreach worker engages with the individual to co-develop a personalized intervention plan with their consent.

So far, 151 sentinels from various sectors have been trained, and 20 reports have led to targeted support for seniors in vulnerable situations—clearly demonstrating the project’s direct impact on the community.

A clear priority for 2025

“This project perfectly reflects the spirit of the new Brome-Missisquoi Pact 2025, whose priority is to combat poverty, promote social inclusion, and respond to the vulnerability factors affecting our citizens—especially seniors and youth,” said Tania Szymanski, Community Development Advisor at the MRC of Brome-Missisquoi. “It also highlights the importance of co-construction in developing solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of our territory.”

A transformative regional movement

The MRC is proud to support a project that is both impactful and unifying for local communities. With about twenty social geriatrics initiatives already active across Quebec, Brome-Missisquoi is contributing to a broader movement to transform elder care, placing emphasis on compassion, proximity, and prevention.

About the Brome-Missisquoi Pact 2025

The Brome-Missisquoi Pact 2025 prioritizes projects co-developed by multiple stakeholders and requires that the MRC be involved in the development process. Initiatives must serve more than one municipality and address identified regional priorities. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with no formal call for proposals.