In order to help the Board of Directors carry out its many responsibilities and projects, certain committees have been formed. We present here a few committees, some who meet on a regular basis and others which are periodically needed.

THE RESIDENTS' COMMITTEE

At this time, two of the residences of Maison St-Dominique (MSD) have a Residents' Committee; they are MSD on Guilbault Street and MSD in the Villeray district.

The Residents' Committee is a fundamental structure in the functioning of MSD. Only residents can be members of this group and they meet on an average of once a month. The meetings are well structured with an executive in place who has the responsibility of organizing, preparing, and animating the meetings. The Executive also acts as a link between the residents and counsellors and the Board of Directors.

The Residents' Committee has the responsibility of nominating resident representatives for the Board of Directors. The meetings offer residents opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions on various topics such as, upcoming activities, difficulty keeping the common areas clean, quality of air inside the house.

The Residents' Committee does not have decision making powers. However, its recommendations are welcome and always taken into consideration. Indeed the contribution of these committees is essential to the functioning of the resource.

THE RECREATION COMMITTEE

This committee is informal in structure in that resident participation varies for each project/activity. The counsellors are always involved and work closely in collaboration with residents who wish to discuss, organize or carry out an activity. This committee is allocated an annual budget and all residents are invited to give their opinion as to how this money should be spent.

THE SELECTION COMMITTEE

The objective of this committee is to determine whether our resource is able to meet the needs of candidates. Monthly meetings are held and the members vary depending on availability. A counsellor of MSD, two residents of our houses, a human relations agent from the CLSC or a social worker from a hospital conduct interviews with the candidates. The maximum number of interviewers is four (with an equal number of residents and mental health workers). Prior to the interview with the Selection committee, a candidate has already visited one or more of the houses and has met with a counsellor.

ADHOC COMMITTEES

At times, these committees are created on a temporary basis for a specific purpose. For example, recently at Maison St-Dominique, a committee composed of residents and a staff member was created to study the air quality of the house. At another house, a group took on the responsibility of shopping for furniture for the community room. Even if these work groups are not given formal titles, they carry out invaluable work.