Sun Youth provides assistance and financial help to low income families and individuals having difficulty paying their utility bills (electricity and heat). To be eligible, these families must have attempted to reach an agreement with their service supplier and must be in a precarious financial situation, as demonstrated by a financial evaluation. Utility expenses will usually represent a high proportion of their household income.

Negotiation with Hydro-Québec

Service interruptions by Hydro-Québec generally occur as of April 1st. Individuals encountering such outages, due to late or non-payments, are notified in writing prior to the interruption. Following receipt of a notice from Hydro-Quebec’s collection department, a low income individual may request Sun Youth’s assistance to negociate a payment agreement with Hydro-Québec. Only residents of the island of Montreal can make such an agreement with Hydro-Québec through Sun Youth.

Distribution of heating oil

Heating oil is distributed between December and March to families residing in the Greater Montreal area. During the 2014-2015 winter season, the following heating oil companies, all of whom are members of the Association Québécoise des Indépendants du Pétrole, are offering free heating oil to people in need: Joseph Élie, CST Canada Co. and Sonic La Coop Fédérée. The company contacted by Sun Youth generally provides the equivalent of a half a tank. Over the past 22 years, more than 300,000 liters of heating oil were thus distributed.