What are the resources for newcomer parents in the face of child criminality?

In 2024, three young people from Saint-Léonard died in a context of armed violence. Mehdi Moussaoui and a 16-year-old teenager lost their lives in a car accident after shooting two motorists. Last September, Mohamed-Yanis Seghouani, 14, was found dead in Frampton, near the den of a Hells Angels school club. For many parents, fear dominates: how to prevent their child from ending up in the same situation? The anxiety is even greater among immigrant families, who have left everything in the hope of a better future for their children. But faced with isolation, integration difficulties and a lack of support, some young people become prey for gang recruiters, who offer them “easy” money. What are the resources to prevent this? What to do when prevention is no longer enough? Report.

Saturday, February 22, 2025, 9:40 a.m. In the Grande Bibliothèque de Saint-Léonard, a hundred residents, elected officials and community actors were sitting down for the second edition of the Citizen Forum, organized by Concertation Saint-Léonard. The aim is to discuss, understand and find solutions to the rise in armed violence. The diversity of participants testifies to the seriousness of the issue: urban security concerns all generations and all communities.

“You have to get out of isolation, get help”

Samira*, in her fifties, is visibly moved when she sits in front of the audience. She introduces herself as a mother and a former court lawyer in her home country. Touched by armed violence in her family, she came to offer her testimony. Her voice is shaking, but she wants to talk.

“We came to Canada five years ago. My husband and I made the choice to come here for the future of our children, but the reality of settling in this new country overwhelmed us," says Samira. "We are asylum seekers, so we have been faced with endless paperwork. My husband worked tirelessly, and at the same time, we discovered that my daughter had a brain tumour. During this time, my 15-year-old son was left alone, but he was also laughed at at school.”

Her eyes swept across the room. “Some parents forbid their children to associate with newcomers, under the pretext that we are synonymous with problems,” regrets Samira. "My son, who was excluded, then became easy prey for gang recruiters. And I didn't see it coming...” confides the mother of the family with a touch of guilt in her voice.

A few months later, the teenager was arrested for a robbery in a convenience store with other young people of his age. “They say that newcomers are the ones who are causing trouble, but all the other young people he was with are Quebecers,” she said.

“Even today, I can't believe he could have done that. I never imagined that he could find himself in this kind of situation, maybe that's the real problem... believing that our children are not capable of the worst.” A heavy silence fell on the room. A hundred people listened without a sound.

“But I refused to abandon him,” she continued. "I sought help. Often, in our communities, we prefer to keep quiet for fear of judgment. But we must realize that what is going to be said is not the most important thing, it is our child who must be helped! ”

Faced with this situation, she turned to the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ) for help. “In six months, they have done a remarkable job. Really, I am grateful to them from the bottom of my heart, insists Samira. Today, my son is 20 years old, he is waiting for trial, he will face his mistakes — and I support him. He must be a good citizen now. He is still a human being, he can do the bad as well as the good.”

Hands are raised in the room, several forming the gesture of Shaka as a form of support. Then, a round of applause rang out. Robenson, a DPJ worker, looked at the scene with wide eyes. “It's the first time I've heard a parent say that the DPJ did a good job. I almost want to go hug him!” he said laughing, moved.

The forum was just getting started. After the testimonies, a panel of stakeholders, including the police and the community sector, spoke out. Among them, we find Dolis Rodriguez, manager of the Espace-Parents workshops at L'Accueil aux immigrants de l'est de Montréal (AIEM).

She insists: “Parents in an immigration context need support to understand the challenges of their children and adapt to the Quebec context.”

Parenting in an immigration context

To learn more about the Espace-Parents workshops, La Converse met Dolis Rodriguez a few days later in a bright AIEM office. She welcomed us with a warm smile, her brown hair pulled up in a half-ponytail.

“Parents come here hoping for a better future for their children. But integration is a shock. They find themselves without reference points, without knowing where to look for support,” begins the manager. Work, language, cultural differences, fear of judgment are various factors that also prevent some parents from seeking this help. “They think they are the only ones going through so many difficulties. But when they join a group and realize that other families are going through the same thing, everything changes. They see that they are not alone, that it is normal to have challenges,” explains Dolis Rodriguez, who was a psychologist before emigrating from Cuba.

It is precisely to break the isolation of adults that the Espace-Parents support was designed. The program offers eight thematic workshops, divided into two main modules: the first to understand the impact of immigration on the family and to present the available resources. The second, entitled “At the heart of my child”, helps parents to support their child in integrating.

The counsellor assures her: “In Quebec, asking for help is not frowned upon. On the contrary. Many parents think that they have to deal with everything on their own, that accepting help means failing in their role. They say to themselves, “It's my child, I should be able to take care of it alone.” “But when you ignore a small problem, it gets worse. And when you do end up looking for help, it's sometimes too late,” she says.

Social codes are changing, so are relationships

Learning French or finding a new job is not enough to feel like you belong in your new country. “This also involves understanding social codes, which are sometimes in contradiction with what we already know,” continues Rodriguez. A culture shock that can redefine relationships within families for the worse.

For children, school is obviously a place to learn... but also a place to question family values. “At school, young people are encouraged to express their opinion, to ask questions. At home, according to certain traditions, respect requires silence, you have to be silent; and if you ask questions, you are becoming a rebel... And now, unfortunately, the parents get harder on the child, they say to themselves: 'Oh, what has happened since my child has been here, he is becoming ill-mannered.' The young man is lost.”

But this observation can also be made on the institutional side, she notes. “I saw parents being summoned to school because their child did not look his teacher in the eye. Here, it's seen as a lack of respect. But in their culture, it's just the opposite: looking down in front of an adult is a sign of respect.”

Beyond cultural differences, another major issue complicates the parent-child relationship: the fear of rejection of the first culture. “Parents want to transmit their culture, but they also want their children to succeed here. How do you find balance? ”

In her workshops, the presenter insists on an essential point: a child should not have to choose between their new Quebec identity and their roots. “We give them tools to value the mother language without imposing it, to share moments around traditions without making them oppressive. The important thing is for the child to love their heritage, not for them to suffer from it.”

The family bond is crucial, insists Dolis Rodriguez. “A young person who does not feel understood at home or accepted outside becomes vulnerable. He will be looking for a group to belong to. If it's not the family, it'll be somewhere else. Before, in the country of origin, a child in conflict with his parents could turn to the extended family: cousins, aunts, grandparents... Here, if he breaks up with his parents, he no longer has anyone to talk to. This total isolation is dangerous.”

It is to avoid this type of divide that Espace-Parents exists: these workshops give families the means to remain firmly anchored in the lives of their children. Finally, the Espace-Parents initiative also offers a presentation of the DPJ.

“Myths and realities of the DPJ”

“In some communities, the mere mention of the DPJ is enough to cause anxiety”, continues Rodriguez. These apprehensions, often fuelled by preconceived ideas, then hold back many parents who would like to ask for help.

It is therefore to demystify the DPJ that Espace-Parents offers an activity entitled “Myths and realities of the DPJ”. The aim is to deconstruct prejudices and allow families to better understand the role of this institution.

One of the methods that prove to be effective is to invite DPJ workers to meet parents in workshops, explains the counsellor. “This simple meeting often changes the perception of the participants.” Parents' reactions are often the same. “A mother already said to me: 'Oh, but in the end, they are normal people!'” reports the young woman in an amused tone. "I don't know what they expected; yes, indeed, they are normal people.” In addition, the parents note that some DPJ workers themselves come from multicultural communities, which seems to them to be a sign of understanding.

“In their country of origin, the authorities are often seen as law enforcement agents. So, meeting with DPJ stakeholders who have a softer approach reassures them,” adds Dolis Rodriguez.

Breaking the fear of reporting

“'My child has been reported to the DPJ; therefore, I am going to lose my children!' This is often what parents think, so they prefer to hide important elements,” continues the counsellor, who encourages parents to be completely transparent with DPJ workers. “If a worker realizes that a parent has hidden elements, the assessment of the situation becomes more complicated. No, a report does not mean that the child will be taken away from the family. Sometimes parents simply need resources that the DPJ can share, but hiding things risks making the assessment more complex.”

Dolis Rodriguez, on the other hand, claims to have never used a report.

During this same activity whereRodriguez presents the “myths and realities” of the DPJ, explaining that another common “myth” is that all children placed in youth centrs become offenders. The intervener recalls: “If a child is placed in a youth cent, it is because the evaluation showed that the young person could not stay in the family. But the ultimate goal is not to separate the child from the parents, it is always the last resort...” However, in an article published in Le Devoir, the Cité-des-Prairies youth centre was presented as a reflection of armed violence where the safety of young people is even more threatened.

So is the DPJ really the last safety net?

Is the DPJ the last resort?

René-André Brisebois, a lecturer and researcher at the Institut Universitaire Jeunes en Trouble at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-France, answers: “Indeed, the DPJ can be a resource, although it is not the first gateway to help. The ideal is to intervene as soon as the first difficulties appear, drawing on existing community resources.”

However, when risky behaviours intensify and an adolescent sinks into the spiral of violence, certain interventions become inevitable. “These are not always pleasant solutions, but they are sometimes necessary to put an end to the situation and start real support work,” he says.

But what are, in concrete terms, the steps in caring for a young person involved in a street gang or armed violence? How can we help him cut ties with this environment? At the time of writing, the DPJ had not responded to our requests for interviews on these issues.

What is certain is that access to resources remains a major challenge. “The families that need the most help are often the ones that don't ask for it. They find themselves isolated, trapped in increasingly complex situations, which increases their vulnerability,” said Mr. Brisebois.

And the longer they delay receiving support, the more the situation worsens. “Support must be proactive. We have to go to these families before it is too late,” he concludes.

So how do you reach these families, especially newcomers, who may not be aware of the resources available to them? At the Saint-Léonard Citizen Forum, initiatives were mentioned, in particular the training of members from immigrant communities to support newcomers, called “Femme-Relais” or “Homme-Relais”. La Converse will explore this initiative in a future article.

*Fictional first name used to ensure the anonymity of the witness and to protect their family.

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