
Input sought on housing pilot in Kanesatake
'We want them to be part of the process because it helps buy in,' said MCK chief Amy Beauvais, who is on the housing portfolio. 'It helps them be aware of what's going on every step of the way, so we'll have less likelihood of people saying we had no idea. We don't want that. We don't want people feeling like they're left in the dark. We want them to feel like they're right there with us moving this forward.'
The meeting takes place tonight, (Friday, May 23), and will include an overview of the project and a workshop.
'It's a pilot project, so we are proposing that we change from the typical stick homes to rammed earth. We will be identifying the benefits of it,' Beauvais said.
When the idea was announced, Beauvais explained the material is durable, energy-efficient, and resistant to fire and mold.
'It's a solution that's been needed because of the housing crisis,' said Beauvais. 'Within that housing crisis there's mold issues and other things that the rammed earth is addressing, that's going to help. I think it's a very logical, viable, feasible solution for the community,' said Beauvais.
'I wish we could build more, but it's got to start somewhere, and I'm hoping it'll gain momentum and people will see how amazing these homes actually are going to be for the community.'
The plans resulted in the project being moved to a different funding stream meant to support innovation, according to Beauvais, necessitating a feasibility study that is expected to wrap up around September.
'It's unfortunate, but it also gives us more time to prepare and more time for the schooling aspect to be set up too,' Beauvais said.
The proposal includes an intention to bring a skills training certificate (AEP) program to the community that could serve to enhance not only the community's housing stock but also its labour force, according to Beauvais.
This could prove useful in the long run if the project were to be replicated year after year, she said.
The pilot project is expected to see two to three triplexes built, for a total of six to nine units. A location on MCK-managed land has been selected for these, Beauvais said, but she would not elaborate further. 'It won't be out of place,' she said.
Prospective tenants may be asked to put in a certain number of hours into the construction. 'That idea was put forth to give the tenant more of a personal connection with where they're going to be living, so it's not just a house, it's a home,' said Beauvais.
Tenants will be selected according to a points system, Beauvais said, which is currently being devised. It could include factors such as how many family members there are, how many children under 18 years old, whether there are disabilities, and other criteria.
'I hope that the community sees it for what I see it as. It's more than just a project. It's more than just housing. This is meant to unite our people again. It's meant to give hope, to show that there is a better tomorrow coming.'
The meeting takes place at Ratihén:te High School tonight, May 23, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pizza and beverages will be offered, and families are welcome.
marcus@easterndoor.com
Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
These U.S. national sites honor the milestones of LGBTQ+ heritage
Just as it turned 100 in 2016, America's National Park Service (NPS) began to officially recognize the contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to the rich and diverse history of the United States. Given the groundbreaking importance of New York City's Stonewall Inn to global queer history, the National Park Service (NPS) fittingly named New York City's Stonewall National Monument as its first site dedicated to preserving LGBTQ+ heritage. Since then, several other NPS sites nationwide have been acknowledged both officially and unofficially for their important ties to the queer past. Stretched across the country and spanning many eras, these places tell inspirational stories of bravery and individualism that deepen our understanding of American history. All free to the public, visits to the following six NPS-managed sites illuminate legacies not just of LGBTQ+ America, but of America itself. On a warm summer night in 1969, long-brewing tensions between New York's LGBTQ+ community and its police force finally came to a boil. In the face of yet another NYPD raid on Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn in the early morning hours of June 28, frustrated bar-goers had finally had enough, and they put up a collective fight. The Stonewall rebellion raged on for days and swelled across the Village, marking the birth of the modern queer movement and making legends out of key participants like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 'Stonewall was about the fundamental right to live authentically,' says Ann Marie Gothard, co-founder of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center. 'That spirit of resistance and the demand for equality still exist today. Stonewall serves as a reminder that progress isn't given, it is continually fought for. It also serves as a powerful reminder that we all stand on the shoulders of previous generations.' Established in 2016, the Stonewall National Monument became the first of its kind dedicated specifically to American LGBTQ+ rights and history. In addition to the Stonewall Inn, the monument encompasses Christopher Park and several surrounding streets where the 1969 riots took place. The interpretive Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center opened last year and includes innovative exhibits like the Mothers of STAR AR Experience, which brings trans and queer icons like Johnson and Rivera back into the Stonewall space. 'Through the Visitor Center, we hope to connect contemporary queer individuals to history while fostering a sense of belonging and community, prompting a call to action for continued progress toward full equality and acceptance for all,' says to know: The Stonewall Visitor Center at 51 Christopher Street offers extended June opening hours for Pride month, Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Regular opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (See 100 years of LGBTQ history mapped across New York City.) Waged for over six weeks in mid-1863, the Siege of Vicksburg in western Mississippi was one of the Civil War's most grueling and decisive conflicts. More than 110,000 soldiers from across the Union and Confederacy took part in the fighting, including 19-year-old Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry. After the war, Cashier returned to Illinois and settled in the little town of Saunemin about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, where he lived quietly for decades—until his gender assigned at birth was revealed, threatening his military pension. 'Cashier served in Civil War fighting at Vicksburg, the Red River expedition, the Battle of Nashville, and more,' explains Rob Sanders, author of the children's book The Fighting Infantryman: The Story of Albert D.J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier. 'Every step this transgender soldier took during his three years of service was historic. In old age, when Albert's right to receive a military pension was questioned, the army finally declared in writing: 'Identity may be accepted.' Albert thus became the first transgender soldier in the United States to receive a military pension.' Today, the 2,500-acre Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the siege, including 1,325 historic monuments and markers, a 16-mile tour road, and a 12.5-mile walking trail. The park's Illinois State Memorial, located on Union Avenue at milepost 1.8, honors Cashier and his fellow Illinoisan veterans of the siege. Good to know: The Vicksburg National Military Park Visitor Center at 3201 Clay Street is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vehicle access to the park's tour road is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:40 p.m. (7 places that honor LGBTQ+ history—during Pride Month and beyond.) The District of Columbia's President's Park is arguably the most cherished of America's national parks, including as it does the White House, the official residence of the U.S. president. Less known to the general public is that President's Park also figures prominently in the LGBTQ+ history of DC and the nation. 'The history of President's Park illustrates the enormous progress gay men and lesbians have made in America, as well as the ways in which LGBT history is intertwined with the broader American story,' says James Kirchick, author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. 'Beginning in the late 19th century, directly across from the building where the most powerful man on earth resides, some of the capital's most despised citizens—gay men—congregated under cover of night in Lafayette Square,' Kirchick explains. 'For decades, the seven-acre grounds were the most popular nocturnal 'cruising' site in the city, a place for men leading secret lives to meet one another anonymously.' Later, President's Park would serve as the site of one of America's first protests for gay rights. 'On April 17, 1965, under the auspices of the Mattachine Society of Washington, a group of openly gay men and women met outside the White House to hold the first organized picket for gay rights on Pennsylvania Avenue,' Kirchick says. Good to know: The White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Celebrate Pride with 10 travel books by LGBTQ authors.) She would go on to inspire generations of feminists, but Rosie the Riveter's status as a cultural icon began during World War II, when her bandana-clad, muscle-flexing character was created to inspire women to work in factories and shipyards in support of the American war effort. In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park was established as a national park on the site of the former Richmond Shipyards near San Francisco. More ships were built at Richmond than at any other shipyard during World War II, and women made up much of its work force. Today, the park showcases the rich tapestry of Americans who came together to support the Allied cause. The exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front,' created by independent public historian Donna Graves and now-retired park ranger Elizabeth Tucker, highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the San Francisco Bay area during the war. 'We believe it is the first LGBTQ+ exhibit at a national park, and it was opened to enthusiasm in 2016,' says Graves. 'I continue to be amazed at how it speaks to issues we address today, from housing and health care to climate change. Good to know: The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, located within the historic Ford Assembly Plant complex at 1414 Harbour Way South, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (These monuments honor LGBTQ history around the world.) New Yorkers have been drawn for decades to Fire Island, the beachy 30-mile-long barrier island tucked just beneath Long Island. Twenty-six miles of it are now protected as Fire Island National Seashore, easily accessible by a half-hour ferry ride from the mainland. 'There are very few places like Fire Island, which has been a summer destination for queer people since as early as the 1930s,' explains Jack Parlett, author of Fire Island: A Century in the Life of an American Paradise. 'The communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines—both of which were initially developed with heterosexual families in mind—were transformed by the queer people from the city who discovered them and decided to make a home there.' These enclaves have been bastions of art, drag, disco, and sexual liberation, Parlett says. 'They have also weathered numerous challenges in the last century, from homophobic policing to the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,' he adds. 'Fire Island is also important to modern queer America, in part, because of its cultural heritage. It is a place where many beloved queer artists and writers have found solace, including James Baldwin, Patricia Highsmith and Frank O'Hara. Also, the parties are great.' Good to know: From mid-May to mid-October, visitors most commonly access Fire Island by ferry from the Long Island towns of Bay Shore, Sayville, or Patchogue, all reachable by car or the Long Island Railroad. (How historians are documenting the lives of transgender people.) Her name might not be widely known, but all working Americans owe Frances Perkins a debt of gratitude. As Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor and the first woman to ever serve in a presidential cabinet, Perkins was instrumental in developing Social Security and forging federal relationships with labor unions. Perkins was one of only two Roosevelt cabinet members to serve for his entire 1933-1945 presidency, making her the longest-serving U.S. Labor Secretary in history. Established as a national monument in 2024—one of the newest in the National Park Service system—the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine had been in the Perkins family since the mid-18th century. It now encompasses the Frances Perkins Center, dedicated to highlighting Perkins' achievements. 'Perkins was the most effective social progressive in American history, responsible for crafting workplace safety laws that are universal today,' says Kirstin Downey, author of The Woman Behind the New Deal, the definitive Perkins biography, 'and as the primary architect of the Social Security program, which has provided an economic bedrock for generations of Americans.' Downey says Perkins' complex personal life included a marriage to a man and a series of intense relationships with women who shared her progressive ideals. 'She was probably the first [cabinet member] to live openly with a person of the same sex, Mary Harriman Rumsey,' Downey adds. 'She was supportive and encouraging of same-sex relationships, which she viewed as marriages.' Good to know: Accessible only by car, the Frances Perkins National Monument is located at 478 River Road. The Brick House residence remains closed for restorations during 2025, but from June 19 to September 28, the Welcome Center and Homestead Barn will be open Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Dan Allen is a Los Angeles-based writer focusing on travel, culture and queer history. Follow him on Instagram @danquests.


National Geographic
11-06-2025
- National Geographic
These U.S. national parks and monuments honor the milestones of LGBTQ+ heritage
In the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, the Gay Liberation Monument in Christopher Park near the Stonewall Inn pays homage to the historically pivotal Stonewall Rebellion, which included prominent gay rights activists including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Photograph by Ed Rooney, Alamy Stock Photo See the country's past through a distinctly queer lens at these National Park Service-managed destinations. Just as it turned 100 in 2016, America's National Park Service (NPS) began to officially recognize the contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to the rich and diverse history of the United States. Given the groundbreaking importance of New York City's Stonewall Inn to global queer history, the National Park Service (NPS) fittingly named New York City's Stonewall National Monument as its first site dedicated to preserving LGBTQ+ heritage. Since then, several other NPS sites nationwide have been acknowledged both officially and unofficially for their important ties to the queer past. Stretched across the country and spanning many eras, these places tell inspirational stories of bravery and individualism that deepen our understanding of American history. All free to the public, visits to the following six NPS-managed sites illuminate legacies not just of LGBTQ+ America, but of America itself. Stonewall National Monument, New York City On a warm summer night in 1969, long-brewing tensions between New York's LGBTQ+ community and its police force finally came to a boil. In the face of yet another NYPD raid on Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn in the early morning hours of June 28, frustrated bar-goers had finally had enough, and they put up a collective fight. The Stonewall rebellion raged on for days and swelled across the Village, marking the birth of the modern queer movement and making legends out of key participants like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 'Stonewall was about the fundamental right to live authentically,' says Ann Marie Gothard, co-founder of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center. 'That spirit of resistance and the demand for equality still exist today. Stonewall serves as a reminder that progress isn't given, it is continually fought for. It also serves as a powerful reminder that we all stand on the shoulders of previous generations.' Established in 2016, the Stonewall National Monument became the first of its kind dedicated specifically to American LGBTQ+ rights and history. In addition to the Stonewall Inn, the monument encompasses Christopher Park and several surrounding streets where the 1969 riots took place. The interpretive Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center opened last year and includes innovative exhibits like the Mothers of STAR AR Experience, which brings trans and queer icons like Johnson and Rivera back into the Stonewall space. 'Through the Visitor Center, we hope to connect contemporary queer individuals to history while fostering a sense of belonging and community, prompting a call to action for continued progress toward full equality and acceptance for all,' says Gothard. Good to know: The Stonewall Visitor Center at 51 Christopher Street offers extended June opening hours for Pride month, Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Regular opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (See 100 years of LGBTQ history mapped across New York City.) Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi Visitors explore the Illinois State Memorial, based on Rome's Pantheon, at Vicksburg National Military Park in Miss. Although in secret, LGBTQ+ people served in the American Civil War, including transgender soldier Albert Cashier, who fought in Vicksburg and the Battle of Nashville. Photograph by Aaron Huey, Nat Geo Image Collection Waged for over six weeks in mid-1863, the Siege of Vicksburg in western Mississippi was one of the Civil War's most grueling and decisive conflicts. More than 110,000 soldiers from across the Union and Confederacy took part in the fighting, including 19-year-old Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry. After the war, Cashier returned to Illinois and settled in the little town of Saunemin about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, where he lived quietly for decades—until his gender assigned at birth was revealed, threatening his military pension. 'Cashier served in Civil War fighting at Vicksburg, the Red River expedition, the Battle of Nashville, and more,' explains Rob Sanders, author of the children's book The Fighting Infantryman: The Story of Albert D.J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier. 'Every step this transgender soldier took during his three years of service was historic. In old age, when Albert's right to receive a military pension was questioned, the army finally declared in writing: 'Identity may be accepted.' Albert thus became the first transgender soldier in the United States to receive a military pension.' Today, the 2,500-acre Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the siege, including 1,325 historic monuments and markers, a 16-mile tour road, and a 12.5-mile walking trail. The park's Illinois State Memorial, located on Union Avenue at milepost 1.8, honors Cashier and his fellow Illinoisan veterans of the siege. Good to know: The Vicksburg National Military Park Visitor Center at 3201 Clay Street is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vehicle access to the park's tour road is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:40 p.m. (7 places that honor LGBTQ+ history—during Pride Month and beyond.) President's Park, Washington, DC The District of Columbia's President's Park is arguably the most cherished of America's national parks, including as it does the White House, the official residence of the U.S. president. Less known to the general public is that President's Park also figures prominently in the LGBTQ+ history of DC and the nation. 'The history of President's Park illustrates the enormous progress gay men and lesbians have made in America, as well as the ways in which LGBT history is intertwined with the broader American story,' says James Kirchick, author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. 'Beginning in the late 19th century, directly across from the building where the most powerful man on earth resides, some of the capital's most despised citizens—gay men—congregated under cover of night in Lafayette Square,' Kirchick explains. 'For decades, the seven-acre grounds were the most popular nocturnal 'cruising' site in the city, a place for men leading secret lives to meet one another anonymously.' Later, President's Park would serve as the site of one of America's first protests for gay rights. 'On April 17, 1965, under the auspices of the Mattachine Society of Washington, a group of openly gay men and women met outside the White House to hold the first organized picket for gay rights on Pennsylvania Avenue,' Kirchick says. Good to know: The White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Celebrate Pride with 10 travel books by LGBTQ authors.) Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park, Richmond, California The Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people during the war in the on-site exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front.' Photograph by Jason O. Watson, Alamy Stock Photo The national historical park commemorates cultural icon Rosie the Riveter, who inspired women to work in factories and shipyards to support the U.S. during the war. Photograph by Zachary Frank, Alamy Stock Photo She would go on to inspire generations of feminists, but Rosie the Riveter's status as a cultural icon began during World War II, when her bandana-clad, muscle-flexing character was created to inspire women to work in factories and shipyards in support of the American war effort. In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park was established as a national park on the site of the former Richmond Shipyards near San Francisco. More ships were built at Richmond than at any other shipyard during World War II, and women made up much of its work force. Today, the park showcases the rich tapestry of Americans who came together to support the Allied cause. The exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front,' created by independent public historian Donna Graves and now-retired park ranger Elizabeth Tucker, highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the San Francisco Bay area during the war. 'We believe it is the first LGBTQ+ exhibit at a national park, and it was opened to enthusiasm in 2016,' says Graves. 'I continue to be amazed at how it speaks to issues we address today, from housing and health care to climate change. Good to know: The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, located within the historic Ford Assembly Plant complex at 1414 Harbour Way South, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (These monuments honor LGBTQ history around the world.) Fire Island National Seashore, Ocean Beach, New York Fire Island has been a popular LGBTQ+ travel destination since the 1930s. It's also home to the historic Fire Island Lighthouse built in 1858 and it features a keeper's house, scenic views, and walking/biking paths such as Fire Island Lighthouse Trail, a six-point-five mile out-and-back trail near Bay Shore. Photograph by John Geldermann, Alamy Stock Photo New Yorkers have been drawn for decades to Fire Island, the beachy 30-mile-long barrier island tucked just beneath Long Island. Twenty-six miles of it are now protected as Fire Island National Seashore, easily accessible by a half-hour ferry ride from the mainland. 'There are very few places like Fire Island, which has been a summer destination for queer people since as early as the 1930s,' explains Jack Parlett, author of Fire Island: A Century in the Life of an American Paradise. 'The communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines—both of which were initially developed with heterosexual families in mind—were transformed by the queer people from the city who discovered them and decided to make a home there.' These enclaves have been bastions of art, drag, disco, and sexual liberation, Parlett says. 'They have also weathered numerous challenges in the last century, from homophobic policing to the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,' he adds. 'Fire Island is also important to modern queer America, in part, because of its cultural heritage. It is a place where many beloved queer artists and writers have found solace, including James Baldwin, Patricia Highsmith and Frank O'Hara. Also, the parties are great.' Good to know: From mid-May to mid-October, visitors most commonly access Fire Island by ferry from the Long Island towns of Bay Shore, Sayville, or Patchogue, all reachable by car or the Long Island Railroad. (How historians are documenting the lives of transgender people.) Frances Perkins National Monument, Newcastle, Maine Her name might not be widely known, but all working Americans owe Frances Perkins a debt of gratitude. As Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor and the first woman to ever serve in a presidential cabinet, Perkins was instrumental in developing Social Security and forging federal relationships with labor unions. Perkins was one of only two Roosevelt cabinet members to serve for his entire 1933-1945 presidency, making her the longest-serving U.S. Labor Secretary in history. Established as a national monument in 2024—one of the newest in the National Park Service system—the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine had been in the Perkins family since the mid-18th century. It now encompasses the Frances Perkins Center, dedicated to highlighting Perkins' achievements. 'Perkins was the most effective social progressive in American history, responsible for crafting workplace safety laws that are universal today,' says Kirstin Downey, author of The Woman Behind the New Deal, the definitive Perkins biography, 'and as the primary architect of the Social Security program, which has provided an economic bedrock for generations of Americans.' Downey says Perkins' complex personal life included a marriage to a man and a series of intense relationships with women who shared her progressive ideals. 'She was probably the first [cabinet member] to live openly with a person of the same sex, Mary Harriman Rumsey,' Downey adds. 'She was supportive and encouraging of same-sex relationships, which she viewed as marriages.' Good to know: Accessible only by car, the Frances Perkins National Monument is located at 478 River Road. The Brick House residence remains closed for restorations during 2025, but from June 19 to September 28, the Welcome Center and Homestead Barn will be open Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Dan Allen is a Los Angeles-based writer focusing on travel, culture and queer history. Follow him on Instagram @danquests.


Hamilton Spectator
30-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Signs installed on Mercier, other bridges urge to seek help if in distress
New signs on the Mercier Bridge to urge individuals in distress to seek help are part of a larger initiative for bridges in the area. The signs, installed in April, are there to let people know about the Suicide Crisis Helpline, which can be reached anywhere in Canada in French or English simply by calling or texting 9-8-8. On the Mercier, the signs are not only in English and French, but also Kanien'kéha, a request made by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) when Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) approached Council about installing the placards on the federal side of the bridge. 'I said this is Kahnawake, how about putting our language on there? They agreed to that. This is our land. It's respect for the community to have this in our language,' said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Arnold Boyer, who leads the infrastructure, transport, and operations portfolio. 'They had no problem with that. We got it translated and they put it on.' The variations on the message include: 'There is hope. We're here to help you.' (Ká:ien' ne kahrharáhtshera'. Enkwarì:wawa'se'.); 'Need help? We're here to listen.' (Íhsehre ken aiesaié:nawa'se'? Eniakwatahónhsatate'.); 'Going through a hard time? We're here to help you.' (Sa'nikonhro'ktá:'on ken? Enkwaié:nawa'se'.); and 'Feeling distressed? Talk to us.' (Tisa'nikónhrhare' ken? Tetewahthá:ren.) 'There's always somebody there 24/7 to listen to somebody in distress,' said Boyer, casting it as part of a broader effort to raise awareness about mental health and ensure folks who are struggling can be connected with the help they need. 'The message is out there. Somebody's there to listen to you and talk with you,' he said. The Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Champlain Bridge have also received the suicide prevention signs. 'It's a concern on bigger bridges,' said JCCBI spokesperson Nathalie Lessard. 'We want to make sure that we do everything we can to improve the safety or security of all of our users. Signage like that is up on bridges all over the world. It's not something that's prevalent in Quebec. Although we seem to be innovating, we're not actually.' She noted that although JCCBI doesn't manage the Champlain Bridge, the corporation was happy to be able to work with that operator to ensure the messaging around the service is the same across area bridges, and other bridge owners are also invited to reach out, Lessard added. In this province, the hotline is operated by the Quebec Suicide Prevention Association in partnership with the government, with the three-digit federal number redirecting to those services. In addition to the hotline, which is reachable by phone or text at 988, the signs also direct people in crisis to the online resource . marcus@ Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .