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The Maison Internationale de la Rive-Sud (MIRS) is an independent community organization based in Brossard, in the Montérégie region. Its mission is to support newcomers to Quebec who are either asylum seekers or refugees as they try to settle here and integrate themselves on a socioeconomic level. MIRS also promotes cultural rapprochement and fosters cultural diversity within the community.

The Maison can help users find temporary accommodation when they arrive here. Through the Maison, individuals also have access to a health checkup, including psychosocial followup as needed, via the Clinique des réfugiés, run in collaboration with the Montérégie-Centre CISSS. Community integration counsellors are also available to help with the multiple administrative procedures newcomers must deal with, like registering for a variety of public services or government programs. Help in organizing children’s schooling is also available.

MIRS also provides interpreters, French-language courses, information sessions on the job market in Quebec, assistance in finding employment and even an intercultural matching program.

In 2022, through the Collective Fund for Social Equity, the Foundation of Greater Montréal granted MIRS $30,000 to assist with an initiative to enhance the psychological health and safety of its staff. The firm MyLumen, which provides psychological services for employees, was thus able to offer free assistance to MIRS staff. The work they undertake, focused on accompanying refugees and asylum seekers, can often be mentally and emotionally taxing. You can find out more by viewing this video:

Visit the MIRS website