Community organizations | In danger because of the rents

Rising rental prices are hurting organizations trying to help vulnerable people. Since its lease has not been renewed, the community organization Café Parenthèse, in Saint-Eustache, must relocate by 1^er March, but the rents are way too high for him.

“I don’t know what will happen,” says Priscilla Laplante, co-founder of the organization. The Café Parenthèse, which serves around fifty homeless people and people living from exclusion in the MRC of Deux-Montagnes daily, received a notice of non-renewal of its lease during Christmas week.

“I started making calls, but the rents are $5,000 to $7,000,” says Priscilla Laplante. With $7,000 a month, that’s $84,000 for a year. A sum well above the $1,782 per month that the café currently pays out.

Difficult to find a low rent in Saint-Eustache, indicates the co-founder of the organization, Mathieu Lavoie. “There is a very low vacancy rate, so prices are going up even in commercial,” he says.

The rental housing vacancy rate in the city of the North Shore is 0.3%, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

A rate that is even lower than that of Montreal, which is 3.7%. The co-founders even looked at old buildings. “But they are bought by people who build condos,” exasperated Priscilla Laplante.

The Café Parenthèse is financed by the project. “So there’s not a lot of money going to administration, rent, insurance and other basic costs,” explains the co-founder. The organization received just under $200,000 in grants last year, “which includes the salaries of the seven workers, rent, food,” she says. “At the end of the day, we can’t afford to put $84,000 in rent. »

Mathieu Lavoie’s dream is to receive the PSOC – Support Program for Community Organizations – which funds community organizations with a global mission and “to receive a grant that is recurring,” he says.

But the café would not qualify before August 2023, since the organization is too young. Café Parenthèse has been an independent organization for only a year. The place, which opened in March 2021, first partnered with another organization. “It was easier to get funds quickly and there was a crying need,” says Priscilla Laplante.

Fighting isolation, one meal at a time

What will the organization do if it cannot find premises? “In the worst case, people will just be isolated,” laments the co-founder. These people are the customers of the Café Parenthèse. Some are homeless, others live with problems of isolation or psychological distress.

The organization offers lunches and suppers – approximately 12,000 meals since its opening – but not only.

“It’s really a living environment”, illustrates Mathieu Lavoie. The organization helps, among other things, with administrative procedures, offers several activities and even does drug addiction prevention.

“Here, we favor discussions around the table, around a meal to talk about real business,” says Priscilla Laplante. “It’s like my family,” says Myriam Mokrane, a regular customer.

Manon Chayer makes her rounds “from time to time”. She feels good in the cafe, especially since she can bring her dog with her and socialize with people. “I found help here,” she says. She hopes that the café will be relocated not too far from the current location, otherwise “it will be too difficult to come with my dog”, she says.

Priscilla Laplante is worried about the customers who frequent the café. “We bear a responsibility,” she said.

Danielle Desrosiers, who comes to lend a hand from Saint-Hyacinthe as a peer helper, also dreads the deadline of the 1^er March. “We have to relocate. If not, where are these people going? she exclaims.

A widespread problem in the MRC

The La Boutik thrift store, managed by the Center Marie Ève organization, resigned itself to closing its doors on October 31 without having been able to find premises that corresponded to its budget. The store had been established for four years in the neighboring town of Deux-Montagnes.

“It’s really a problem to relocate”, recognizes Isabelle Jorg, director general of the Center Marie Ève.

The premises available – and which were large enough for them – were asking for $50,000 to $60,000 per year, while their previous rent was $18,000 per year.

The Center Marie Ève “may have finally found its premises for the thrift store,” says Isabelle Jorg. But he had to resign himself to a smaller room. “We wanted a room of 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, but we may have found one of 1,080 square feet.^⁠2. »