“This dad came through our house a few years ago. He had just married a Quebecer and immigrated from Africa. His wife forbade him and his child from another marriage to leave their apartment. He lived, so to speak, imprisoned for months. »
The executive director of the Réseau Maisons Oxygène, Christine Fortin, casts a glance at the huge photograph of the smiling man and his uncertain-looking little boy hanging on the wall of the office. She is the one who leads this support resource, unique in Quebec, which offers accommodation to fathers who are experiencing difficulties in their lives, but who want to keep in touch with their children or who have custody of them.
But the Maisons Oxygène Network is precisely lacking in oxygen. Among the twenty shelters located throughout Quebec, eight of them receive no funding and none of them can afford to have employees on site at all times, even at night. , to help the most vulnerable fathers. “The possibility of service failure is very real,” warns Christine Fortin, adding that the organization lost this year a grant “which paid two salaries” and which it had benefited from since 2009.
That’s why the organization called on a lobbyist more than a year ago to ask the Department of Health and Social Services for an emergency fund of $5.1 million. The office of the Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, refused their request and instead invited them to seek funds from other resources, such as local CIUSSSs. “Without the will of the elected officials and the national, there is nothing that will go into our coffers”, deplores however Christine Fortin. The interview request To have to to Minister Carmant’s office remained unanswered.
Dynamic coordinator of the Montreal house, Quentin Lebreton also underlines the extent to which Oxygen Houses are underfunded. “In Montreal, we are the most funded house in Quebec, but we can’t manage to have staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
A home in community
When passing the To have to On the scene, on a sunny Monday afternoon, the Maison Oxygène located on Pie-IX Boulevard, in Montreal, is calm. “We have three fathers who left last weekend. There are others who will arrive in the coming days, ”explains Quentin Lebreton. We hear a man’s voice coming from one of the rooms, which unlock using a code. “He is telecommuting,” says Mr. Lebreton.
Men who come here stay a minimum of three months, although the average length of stay has increased to five months since the pandemic, in particular due to difficulties in finding accommodation. “COVID has exacerbated consumption problems and mental health issues”, lists the coordinator, who specifies that 88% of the fathers housed begin their stay with “great psychological distress”.
The bright house has seven bedrooms with several beds each to accommodate the children of those who live there. In the small kitchen are arranged two ovens and refrigerators numbered for each room. “On weekends, when several dads have custody of their children, it’s crowded,” smiles Quentin Lebreton.
The fathers who live here have generally suffered a marital breakdown, most of the time at the initiative of the spouse. “They often come here after experiencing hidden homelessness, they are ashamed, they are embarrassed to see their children in these conditions,” explains Christine Fortin. At Maison Oxygène, men in distress have access to psychosocial workers and community life that can help them get back on the proverbial right path. And not to adopt potentially dangerous behaviors.
“We also do violence prevention, because with us, the man cannot be isolated enough to resort to it,” says Ms.me Fort. Quentin Lebreton agrees: “I consider it to be a profoundly feminist approach”.
In the game room, in the basement, several toys are scattered around the small slide that sits in the middle of the room. On the wall is a mural where you can see giraffes and elephants, their heads bowed down, looking benevolent. A bit like the whole building, a real haven of peace for people who settle there temporarily.
Breathless
On the phone, the chairman of the board of directors of the Maisons Oxygène network and co-director of the Baie-Comeau house, Patrick Desbiens, made himself clear: it was out of the question for Maisons Oxygène to cease their activities, and he reminded the fathers of family not to hesitate to ask for help. “But since the pandemic, the demand has doubled, and the dads who make the demands accumulate more vulnerability factors,” he explains. Without sufficient funds, the network simply cannot meet the demand.
“I know that he is very favorable to what we are doing, but we do not have access to Minister Carmant”, also notes Mr. Desbiens. According to him, the department did not give a clear reason to justify its refusal to grant a $5.1 million grant to Maisons Oxygène, suggesting that they instead send their request to the CIUSSS or to the Support Program for Organizations. community.
During this time, workers in the field carry the stoves at arm’s length. “All the houses are in a precarious situation, it is enough for a worker to leave [pour causer un bris de service] “, alarmed Mr. Desbiens, who claims not to have taken a vacation for two years.
Asked why the ministry does not want to grant a subsidy to the network, Mr. Desbiens leaves silence. “I feel like maybe it’s just a matter of political will. »