An inconceivable death | Press

A 74-year-old man lost his life on Monday evening. We will have to wait for the conclusions of the coroner who is investigating this tragic death, but everything suggests that this homeless person succumbed to hypothermia.

That it is still there, in 2022, to deplore that a man died of cold, in a metropolis where there is neither shelters, nor empty premises, nor heating, is inconceivable. Especially after the deaths of two other homeless people, Elisapie Pootoogook and Raphaël André, also froze to death last year.

It’s like we never learn, from one year to the next. As if we weren’t in a position to implement proper emergency plans when it is too cold or too hot.

As if, in the end, we were unable to protect the most vulnerable people in our society.

At the City of Montreal, we are assured that there are enough places to welcome people experiencing homelessness. In addition to the usual places, the declaration of a state of emergency, on December 21, allowed the City to requisition the Chrome hotel, or a hundred beds, for people declared positive for COVID-19 who do not require hospital care. A good initiative, it must be said. But insufficient. Why did you wait until Tuesday to announce the opening of the soccer stadium in Villeray – Saint-Michel – Parc-Extension, which has a capacity of 300 seats and which we used last year? Winter is not, however, an unexpected surprise.

The other problem facing the City of Montreal is one of manpower. Mayor Plante invites Montrealers who have experience in intervention and social work to visit the “I contribute” site to offer their services. This is where the shortage of workers is so obvious.

In this regard, the last recommendation of D^r Arruda ahead of the announcement of his resignation on Monday night left people on the ground in awe to say the least. The former director of public health recommended dropping sanitary measures and opening beds to capacity. A perfect plan to decimate the teams in place in the shelters, already fragile …

But beyond the pandemic and the shortage of manpower, the death of this man, last Monday, places us collectively before a serious statement of failure. We learn that it was known to stakeholders who visited it under its viaduct for ten years. Ten years ! And we never managed to provide him with a roof? To provide him with care? Finding services to improve your quality of life? Can you imagine for a single moment someone with a broken arm who would wait 10 years in a hospital emergency room?

So why is it tolerated that people experiencing homelessness, struggling with mental health problems, remain on the margins of society for so long?

Mayor Plante acknowledged her helplessness: we cannot force people to spend the night in a shelter, she recalls, while repeating that no one should sleep outside.

In fact, it is up to the police to decide whether or not to intervene. They can do this in the event of imminent danger. Hard to believe that the intense cold is not one. Why, when it’s so cold, don’t we force people to take refuge in the warmth?

True, it’s easier to write than to do. And the coroner’s inquest will tell us all the details about the deceased’s condition. But this death is really hard to accept when you realize that it’s the same scenario that plays out from year to year.

We wrote last June about the five-year plan developed by the seven main roaming organizations in Montreal. The principle guiding their thinking is to provide a home for each person to prevent the most vulnerable from risking their lives outside. But each time we call on the elected, they pass the ball to each other in an increasingly indecent game of ping-pong. Housing ? It’s Quebec! Money for housing? It’s Ottawa! Social services? It’s Quebec. The police ? It’s Montreal! How many more deaths before all these beautiful people come together and act?