Faced with new local tensions related to homelessness, an organization in the Saint-Roch district held a first workshop for children on the issue this weekend. An experience aimed less at making them aware of the phenomenon than at knowing what they think about it.
Why do homeless people have dogs? Are they on the street because they lost their parents? Will they think we’re laughing at them if we smile at them? “Children don’t have the filter of adults and often don’t have the space to be heard,” notes one of the workshop facilitators, Mélanie Cournoyer. “They have a lot of answers to the questions that we ourselves can ask ourselves. »
Launched by the organization l’Engrenage, the discussion took place on Saturday afternoon at the Maison des enfants in Saint-Roch. The premises are located a few doors down from the Nocturnal Chimney, which welcomed homeless people every night this winter. During the week, we give help with homework; on weekends, we organize outdoor activities, such as this visit to the sugar shack scheduled for next week.
L’Engrenage, which organizes dialogue activities around the theme of homelessness in the neighborhood, visited them on Saturday with the aim of developing an animation tool for children on this delicate theme.
While an unpleasant winter rain fell outside, the overflow of colors inside provided a welcome contrast. Colors from decorations and 1001 April Fools, but also dresses with bright African fabrics for some girls, half of the children being from former French colonies such as Cameroon and Chad.
A diversity that gave rise to the first surprise of the activity. While the facilitator asked them what the names of the people “who have no home” were, the children of African origin cried out in chorus “homeless people! “. When she asked them what that meant, Saleh, 9, replied “poor”. “Next to our apartment, there are shops and people like homeless people who sometimes play the guitar,” added Ange, 10. “When I see someone who doesn’t have a home, it makes me sad”, meanwhile slipped Clément, 6 years old.
Box 144
In order to break the ice, Mélanie had first read aloud the book Box 144by Nadine Poirier and Geneviève Després, published in 2019.
This illustrated book tells the story of Léa, a little girl who meets a homeless man while she is playing hopscotch. At first, she believes it to be a genie, as in the tale of Aladdin. The garment on which he sits would then be a magic carpet; and the cup in front of him, a marvelous lamp. She later discovers that the reality is more sinister. Mélanie continues reading: “Why did he only own a piece of sidewalk when she felt at home everywhere? »
Assembled around a table, the children listen with more or less attention: one relentlessly manipulates a Rubik’s cube to stay focused; another, “elastic dough”.
When Mélanie asks them what the book is about, the little ones hesitate. Then Clément whispers in his ear that “it’s like the other time when we saw the gentleman who was lying in the street”.
For neighborhood children, homelessness is a familiar reality, noted earlier another educator, Camille Pilote. “They don’t know what it is, even if they rub shoulders with her. »
Last summer, she says, the Maison des enfants de Saint-Roch held a lemonade counter in front of the forecourt of the Saint-Roch church. Passers-by had all kinds of reactions. Many were delighted and came to be served repeatedly, but a woman started screaming and the children wanted to “know why”. “We talk about it so that they feel more at ease in their neighborhood. Afterwards, they will be less afraid when we go on walks. »
To take the pulse
“Me, I put myself in their place and I feel sad,” says Evelyne, 7, in a very small voice. “Yes,” adds another child.
Many of them raise their hands when another facilitator asks them what we could do to help them. “We could give them food, friends, a home. Well, if they want…” said one of the tall ones. Ambitious, Gloria speaks of “starting a foundation for the homeless”. Saleh, he suggested opening a building “where there will be plenty of beds”. To give them money, but “without the cigarettes”.
“Are we going to do the thing or are we just going to talk about it?” Evelyne asks in a fearful tone.
Later, young Aisha wonders “why the homeless have dogs”. The organizer of l’Engrenage, Trycia, replies that these people perhaps had “a house where there was a dog” before living on the street. Saleh says animals “make you feel better”; like him, when he misses his mom. Ange suggests that people may be living on the streets “because their parents are dead.”
When I see someone who has no home, it makes me sad
One of the facilitators asks if it would make them happy to say hello or smile to them. The children hesitate. “Sometimes they may think we’re making fun of them,” says another child named Ange.
The discussion will finally end without conclusion, the children being more and more eager to return to their manga, the Barbie dolls in paper towel dresses and April Fools. Mélanie still plans to relaunch the exchange during another activity next week.
In an initial assessment of this meeting, the facilitators noted that the children were reluctant to open up about their feelings about homelessness, but that they were less likely than one might think to show fear of it. homeless place. “I have the impression that fear comes from adults. Young people perceive homeless people as people who have no roof, no house,” notes Trycia Laroche, intern at l’Engrenage. “They didn’t talk — except once — about people in crisis. Themes that they plan to explore further during future meetings.
L’Engrenage wishes to develop its “own youth tool” for the population of the district. “It is often raised that parents do not really know what to say to their children on this,” notes Annie Mathieu, also from Gear. “We are in the early stages of developing content,” adds Trycia.