The Miyoskamin house, located in the Little Burgundy district of Montreal, has been welcoming its first residents since this weekend. Intended for single indigenous women or mothers, this place aims to help them realize their dream of returning to school or learning a trade.
“It’s housing with support services for people who will live there for three to five years with a sort of action plan” to realize their ambitions, explains Na’kuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal. (FFAM). If the latter represents a first step for people in crisis, Miyoskamin is in a way the second phase. “You are more independent and balanced, now you have your own place. »
The 23 apartment units, ranging from 3 ½ to 5 ½, are not exclusively reserved for those who have suffered domestic violence, but for all Indigenous women and their children who need them, specifies Na’kuset. Emilie Kaiser, trainer at the organization Bâtir son Quartier, which is a partner in the project, indicates that the residents were selected based in particular on their ability to live in a group and the absence of problems with alcohol or drug consumption.
As he passes, The duty was able to visit Miyoskamin’s new furnished accommodations, some of which have large windows with a view of the Montreal skyscrapers. More than 60% of the accommodations are accessible to people with reduced mobility, mentions Larissa States, director of the house, while circulating in the brightly colored corridors of the place.
The five-story building faces a park where fall colors were beginning to tint the trees on this late September morning. Residents will also be able to enjoy the sun by going to the building’s rear courtyard, where a large terrace sits.
Tenants benefit from the Rent Supplement program, which allows them to pay only 25% of their income for housing, indicates Building Your Neighborhood. The latter explains that the rest of the rent is covered 90% by the Société d’habitation du Québec and 10% by the City of Montreal.
Miyoskamin was developed through the Quebec program for the development of real estate projects, AccèsLogis, which has now been replaced by the Quebec Affordable Housing Program. Funding for the completion of the residential project came from three levels of government: provincial, federal and municipal.
An expected opening
Ms. States is excited to welcome the first tenants, thirteen years after the start of the project and approximately two and a half years after work began. The other women will arrive gradually by the end of the year, until full capacity is reached. “We have needed this house for a very long time and we have it now,” she says.
Miyoskamin was created in particular because of the obstacles faced by many women who attended the FFAM when they then look for a place to live, says Na’kuset. According to her, racism and the housing crisis are to blame. “We had to create a living environment so that they could anchor themselves, be stronger and be supported for the next few years and so that they could choose what they want to do and not what we want them to do. »
The name of the house, Miyoskamin, means “the heart of innovation” in Cree. “I was moved when I saw this word,” says Na’kuset. That’s exactly what we do, something innovative that breaks the mold. »
A clinic on the same page
According to Larissa States, one of the strengths of the project is the presence of the Saralikitaaq clinic, which means “butterfly” in Inuktitut, in the same building as Miyoskamin. “These are two separate projects that go beautifully together,” explains Jennifer Lee, care coordinator.
Indigenous people from Montreal who live outside the walls of the home will also be able to benefit from the clinic. Certain days will be reserved for social pediatrics which operates according to the principles of the Fondation du Dr Julian. “It’s centered on the child and their strengths and also based on their interests and passions. I will try to connect him with different resources to develop his strengths,” says Ms. Lee, in the room with blue walls, where there are stuffed animals and coloring pencils.
Services from different professionals will also be available in Saralikitaaq, such as those of a lawyer, adds Na’kuset. “If the community needs it, they can come to the clinic and have a meeting. »
A “success” to be reproduced
The creation of the Miyoskamin house is undoubtedly a “success”, believes Yann Omer-Kassin, development agent and manager of major projects at Bâtir son district. Especially since to accomplish this project, the Montreal Native Women’s Shelter purchased a 1914 heritage building, the Hushion Bath, which had been in poor condition for several years.
One of the requirements attached to the status of the building was to preserve the original facade, explains Mr. Omer-Kassin. “It’s a great reuse of a public facility, rather than finding an ordinary building,” he maintains.
Na’kuset hopes that Miyoskamin will serve as a model and be recreated in other Montreal neighborhoods, as well as different cities. “The problem is that as soon as we are filled to capacity, there will be a waiting list. So someone else must also copy this and do it elsewhere. »