By Katrine Desautels
Stéphanie Lareau has labored with homeless individuals in Montreal for the previous 20 years. Usually, the tents start to vanish by December, however this yr is completely different, she mentioned.
“That is going to be the primary yr for me that there are such a lot of of them, and that there aren’t many locations to go. By August, I used to be calling shelters and so they have been full every single day. That by no means used to occur earlier than,” mentioned Lareau.
As temperatures drop in Montreal, homeless shelters are overcrowded and warming stations — furnished with chairs, not beds — are at full capability. Unhoused individuals wander round subway stations, whereas others sleep standing up in 24-hour eating places. Many are pitching tents to outlive the winter.
The state of affairs has already proved lethal. On Dec. 15, a 55-year-old homeless man was discovered useless in a Montreal park. Authorities imagine he could have died of hypothermia.
Alison Meighen-Maclean, who has labored with homeless individuals for the previous decade on the regional well being authority in east-end Montreal, mentioned individuals urgently want roofs over their heads. The warming stations the town has arrange this yr aren’t addressing the necessity as a result of they’re solely designed to maintain individuals indoors for a brief time frame, she mentioned.
In early December, the Quebec authorities mentioned it had housed 1,000 of the province’s homeless individuals — a inhabitants that stood at about 10,000, as of 2022. A brand new rely of unhoused individuals in Quebec is scheduled for January 2025.
Quebec Social Companies Minister Lionel Carmant mentioned organizations supporting homeless individuals have been behind the obvious discount. He additionally credited a authorities program that gives psychological well being providers whereas serving to individuals discover housing.
For Meighen-Maclean, the housing and homelessness crises are tied collectively.
“In immediately’s market, it’s getting again into the [housing] market when you’ve been rejected that’s very troublesome,” she mentioned, explaining that many are homeless for the primary time. Some, she mentioned, had been getting by on social help and have been evicted or misplaced their job.
“Everyone who works with the homeless is feeling a whole lot of powerlessness each day,” mentioned Meighen-Maclean.
Lareau mentioned the rise began to balloon throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including that the portrait of homelessness has modified. In some instances, seniors being renovicted from their flats, she mentioned.
“Typically they don’t actually know the legal guidelines or their rights, so that they get a bit screwed,” she mentioned.
“Renoviction” describes a state of affairs when a landlord cites the necessity for main renovations as the rationale behind an eviction.
Carmant identified that the federal government has elevated funding for tackling homelessness, from a five-year finances of $280 million to $410 million.
“This yr, we added one other $15 million, and with federal funding, it’s going to be one other $25 million for the following two years. We’ve improved the plan a number of occasions, each by way of emergency measures and housing helps,” he mentioned in an interview.
Carmant additionally mentioned he needs to see extra supportive housing within the coming years.
“We discuss rather a lot about shelters, however we’ve lots of people who’re nonetheless in shelters after 12, 18, 24 months,” he mentioned, including the purpose is to offer individuals help as soon as they go away a shelter so that they don’t return to the road.
“After they’re able to be extra unbiased, we put them in what we name supportive housing, the place they’ve their very own kitchen… there are not any widespread areas, it’s actually like an residence,” he mentioned.
Laurie Mercure, head of the concurrent problems, addictions and homelessness division on the east-end Montreal well being authority, welcomes the promising applications. Nevertheless, she mentioned too many individuals are falling by way of the cracks — particularly seniors who want flats tailored for his or her wants, {couples} and people with pets, all of whom face extra boundaries to getting housed.
Regardless of the uphill battle, Meighen-Maclean, Mercure and Lareau all identified that group organizations and intervention employees are constructing belief with unhoused individuals in order that they’re open to accepting assist, even when it means getting somebody a medical insurance card, which for some is their sole piece of identification.
Sending nurses into the sector additionally makes a distinction. “I feel we are able to forestall an individual’s situation from deteriorating by going into their atmosphere. It doesn’t matter if it’s a shelter or a camp, with nursing care we are able to maybe keep away from hospitalization or a visit to the emergency room,” mentioned Meighen-Maclean, explaining that such help leads to fewer 911 calls and de-escalation.
One of many objectives, she mentioned, is to accompany the individual to providers, to allow them to entry care similar to Quebecers who aren’t on the road. “We’re seeing enhancements in entry to providers. However it’s not excellent. There’s nonetheless work to be achieved,” she mentioned.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Dec 22, 2024.
Canadian Press well being protection receives help by way of a partnership with the Canadian Medical Affiliation. CP is solely liable for this content material.
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Final modified: December 22, 2024
