A Montreal couple has established a café near the Atwater Metro station – but it’s no ordinary coffee shop.
The aim of Pacefika Café is to defray the cost of services at their private clinic, which is right next door.
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“We wanted to start up this café in order to be able to cover some of the services,” explained Dr. Andreea Gorgos.
“Either discount some of the services or cover them for free. ”
Gorgos and her husband, Dr. Shuvo Ghosh, founded Centre de santé Meraki, a private clinic on 1445 Lambert-Closse St., to provide speech therapy and gender-transition services to children.
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Patients who can’t afford to pay for private services often have to turn to hospitals or CLSCs to receive these services for free – and they’re often put on long waiting lists.
According to Gorgos, the demand for services is outpacing the province’s ability to provide them.
“The demand of the population and the number of kids that need to be evaluated are so much higher than what the province can deal with,” said the pediatrician.
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The cafe has been open for a few days.
“Our customers are really excited about it,” said Zoe Bouchard, the café’s manager.
“Not only do they get good coffee, but it’s for a good cause.”
The Quebec health ministry said it was looking into the café clinic set up, but didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
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The owners say almost all the profits from the café will go to the cause.
The objective is to provide free services by 2017.