In Montreal ,Canada, a local charitable group called Accueil Bonnea is offering several services for homeless people to keep them occupied and teach them life skills that they can use in the future. Among the services that they offer includes a program run through a partnership with the Montreal urban beekeeping company Alveole. This group offers homeless people enter a program where they can be beekeepers. The chores and services needed for tending for bees can also be beneficial for the bees and the beekeepers.
The program is aimed to teach the homeless job skills and teach them how to interact socially. The program makes use of over 60 hives, in several locations found all over the city. Aside from providing the homeless with something to do through the beekeeping apprentice program, there are also other benefits such as giving the people in the program productive and meaningful work. It is more than just beekeeping for some, it is like therapy and and gives them a chance to take their minds away from their current life problems.
“When they get to be hands on, they see that it’s all about being confident and being at peace with the bees,” said Geneviève Kieffer Després, the director of communications and special projects. “The most important thing is that it’s not just a job. It’s learning to do something you love and getting rewarded for it. That is something we want to teach.” So far, all the members of the program have yielded positive results.