A little over a month after the Homelessness Summit, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, is distributing emergency aid requested by certain municipalities plunged into crisis. After Roberval, it was Quebec’s turn to receive more than 2 million additional dollars on Tuesday.
“It’s a huge step in the right direction,” reacted the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, during an announcement at the Lauberivière refuge.
Of the 2.55 million, the sum of $630,000 will make it possible to attract qualified employees to accommodate a dozen more people in Lauberivière in transition resources. Due to lack of staff, an entire wing of the resource shelter is currently unused.
Welcome help but insufficient to meet all the needs of the shelter, agreed the president of its board of directors, Georges Amyot. “It’s a very encouraging start,” he said.
Minister Carmant could not confirm whether this assistance would be recurring, but he said he was waiting for the green light from the Minister of Finance to do so.
New resources in Charlevoix and Portneuf
Part of the envelope will also be dedicated to adding minimal homelessness intervention services in the Beauport, Portneuf and Charlevoix sectors which have recently been confronted with the phenomenon.
Before making this announcement, Minister Carmant went to Lac-Saint-Jean to announce the granting of $1 million to finance two new shelters in Alma and Roberval, which are also facing needs. unprecedented.
Earlier this fall, the mayor of Quebec criticized Minister Carmant for his apathy in the face of the scale of the homelessness crisis.