Applying to the Assistance Fund for Users
Read carefully before submitting an application
Applications must be submitted by a health care professional (occupational therapist, physiotherapist, social worker, nutritionist, physician, etc.) working within our facilities, to be approved by the Assistant Director for Physical Disabilities of the CIUSSS Centre-sud de Montréal when presented to the REA Foundation. The requested assistance must not be covered by the public health plan or private insurance.
The maximum amount granted per user per year is $125. The user or someone working closely with them must personally spend the requested amounts.
The REA Foundation has established a separate fund within the Assistance Fund for Users for exceptional humanitarian requests. This annual fund of up to $2,500 allows the Foundation to grant larger sums when the socio-economic conditions significantly limit the user’s opportunities for social integration. Any exceptional request must be justified when submitting the form to the REA Foundation.
How to submit a request:
The user must go through a professional working in our facilities (applicant) to make such a request. The applicant then completes the electronic form and submits it to their manager/service chief for approval. The manager will then forward the approved request to the REA Foundation.
In their application, the applicant must clearly demonstrate the impact that financial assistance will have on the life and social participation of the users if the funds are granted.
At this point, the REA Foundation prepares the check, to be signed by both the Assistant Director for Physical Disabilities and the Executive Director of the Foundation (these signatures serve as official approval). Once signed, the check will be sent to the applicant via internal mail for delivery to the user.
Processing times and procedure
When the REA Foundation receives the request, the check will be issued within 5 to 7 business days. Vacations of REA Foundation personnel or the Assistant Director for Physical Disabilities of the CCSMTL, and office closures at the Foundation may lead to delays in processing times.
Important: The REA Foundation regularly receives calls and emails to request if exceptions can be made for the elements below. Given our administrative capacity, accounting rules, and requirements of the Canada Revenue Agency for charities, please note that the elements below are formal and cannot be subject to exceptional measures.
Payments from the Assistance Fund for Users are exclusively made by check and in the name of the user. In the event that the user is a minor, the check will be issued in the name of the parent or guardian. An exclusive agreement with the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal allows the REA Foundation to also make payments on behalf of the institution (exclusive agreement with technical aids for payment of the deductible). It is not possible to issue a check in the name of another organization/individual than in the three cases mentioned above (user, parent/guardian/CIUSSS). Additionally, payments must be issued by check and cannot be made in any other form.
When a request is accepted by your manager and sent to the Foundation, you must not modify the terms without notifying the Foundation. Any changes must be the subject of a new request.
Each application is carefully reviewed to ensure it actively contributes to the user’s social inclusion. No request is automatically accepted. Therefore, no promises should be made to a user, and those applying on their behalf should not advance funding with their own money.
Eligible users include those with physical disabilities, including rehabilitation based on social integration / intensive functional rehabilitation, both within and external to the following facilities of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal: Centre de réadaptation Lucie-Bruneau, Centre de réadaptation en déficience physique Raymond-Dewar (Laurier) and Institut de réadaptation Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montréal.
