Homelessness report released

Thirty-three recommendations from Social Affairs Committee

By Kevin Woodhouse

Last Wednesday, the provincial government’s Social Affairs Committee, chaired by Jacques Cartier MNA Geoffrey Kelley, released its report on homelessness in Quebec. 

The release followed almost a year’s work when in September 2008, the committee toured Montreal, Quebec City, Trois Rivieres and Gatineau to speak to community groups and front line social workers dealing with the rising concerns of homelessness.

In all 145 briefs and 104 witnesses spoke to the committee, including people who were homeless.

The last time such a report was done was 15 years ago. “It was time to get a better understanding of the homeless today,” Kelley told The Suburban.

The classic image of an elderly man dressed in rags with a bottle on a park bench still exists but the committee learned that “there are more women and young people on the street and it is not just a Montreal problem.”

While it is common for residents of outlying communities to come to larger cities for financial opportunities and many who cannot cope with the expectations and demands of city life can find themselves on the street, more native community residents “who are not equipped for the job market are becoming a new element in homelessness,” said Kelley.

And while the report had 33 recommendations, four areas highlighted by the Social Affairs Committee were “the importance of social housing and the coaching and social work required for someone who was recently homeless,” Kelley said. “Different models have to be looked at including supervised housing or a boarding house concept so that someone who is living under a roof for the first time can learn stability.”

Once lodging is stabilized, usually the next hurdle for someone who was homeless is to get over a dependency of some kind. “There is never one root cause that leads to homelessness but dependency issues, loss of a job or marriage can be contributing factors to a real act of despair,” said Kelley.

The second highlight was the need for long term and stable financing for shelters. Municipal, provincial and federal governments acting together as well as a clear policy statement to better coordinate services are other recommendations from the committee.

Kelley also sees a need for more effective policing of the homeless. “There needs to be an alternative to giving homeless people loitering tickets because this will cost the system and the taxpayer so there needs to be a re-examining of the judicial system.”

The committee found no conclusive proof that the recent economic recession had added to the ranks of Canada’s homeless population.
Kelley said some missions had expressed concerns over the rising number of job losses as many Canadians could be at the end of their E.I. benefits.  Also, “alarm bells are going off because there are less corporate contributors as some companies have been forced to be less generous.”