Posted at 5:00 a.m.
(Prévost) Due to a difficult marital situation, Lélia Juneau, 20, was forced to leave her Prévost apartment in a hurry. Two years later, the young woman is still looking for affordable housing in the Lower Laurentians where she and her cat would finally be welcome.
The one who wanted to live near her place of work, in Saint-Jérôme, was finally forced to move to Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, about twenty kilometers away. “Currently, I am hosted by friends of my parents. Although I have a roof over my head and a personal space, I am in the basement, with no separate entrance, no closed bedroom, no kitchen and no personal bathroom and I pay $750 a month,” testifies- she.
As the demand for affordable housing is very high, landlords are raising their selection criteria.
“They tell me that I’m too young, or that since I have a cat, it won’t work,” she says. Being in school and only working part-time could have harmed her profile, she believes; so she got a full-time job. However, nothing helps.
The situation is alarming everywhere around Saint-Jérôme, a city where the vacancy rate is below 1%.
In a Facebook group dedicated to finding affordable housing, a woman recounts having had to move to Mirabel and exceed her monthly budget of $300 to avoid being homeless.
However, it is in Prévost that access to housing is the most limited. This community of nearly 14,000 inhabitants has had a vacancy rate of 0% for nearly two years, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. It is therefore virtually impossible to find a rental apartment there.
In an interview, the mayor of the city, Paul Germain, explains that 83% of Prévost residences are single-family homes. “As the supply of multi-unit housing is very small, it is easily filled,” he points out.
“We don’t ask for more than to make affordable housing projects […], but we don’t have the means to have a substantial vision in housing and to take it as far as we would like, he continues. There are things that belong to us and others that come under the Government of Quebec. He specifies that a low-cost housing project (HLM) is on the table, but that it will only contribute to meeting the demand for 25 places.
Jobs and urban exodus
The mayor recalls that dozens of jobs have been created in his city in recent years. “Where do we put these people? he asks. They come with new needs to be met, in particular schools and hospitals, although we still have the infrastructures of 30 years ago. »
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Paul Germain, Mayor of Prévost
The exodus of Montrealers to the crowns has also contributed to reducing the supply of available housing. The phenomenon, to which Prévost has not escaped, has accelerated in recent years, on the one hand thanks to the various incentives offered to young families, and on the other hand because the advent of telework has encouraged many people to settle in the suburbs or in the regions.
Moreover, data from the Institut de la statistique du Québec show that the Laurentians should see their population increase by 2031. From 2021 to 2026 alone, the number of residents in the region should increase by 6.1%, growth well above the Quebec average (4.2%). This is the largest population growth expected among the regions of Quebec, according to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.
Departures
If families arrive in town, Prévost is gradually losing its seniors and students, deplores the mayor. They often move to surrounding municipalities, simply because they have a better supply of affordable housing.
“We must densify the city and create more housing to encourage young people to stay,” explains Mr. Germain. But when you’re a city like Prévost, and it was built so that each inhabitant has a large piece of land, it’s complicated. »
We cannot remain spread out like a suburb and not give ourselves an economic heart, a city centre.
Paul Germain, Mayor of Prévost
If this glaring lack of housing forces households to move several kilometers further, others still risk finding themselves on the street on the 1er July.
The various resources for the homeless are not necessarily equipped, trained and equipped to accommodate all clienteles, explains Pascal Desrosiers, manager of the organization La Hutte, emergency accommodation located in Saint-Jérôme. He gives the example of the elderly who no longer have the means to relocate quickly and easily.
The situation is such that the citizens of Prévost still looking for a roof are invited to call on a new help and listening line set up by the housing assistance committees of Mirabel and the MRC. North River.
The help line number is 579 368-1208.