Toddlers escorted by police out of daycare. “Disruptive events” every school day. Children witnessing violence or exhibitionism.
Cohabitation between childhood and homelessness is becoming more complicated these days in the central neighborhoods of Montreal, at a time when the social crisis is coming to light. A psychologist also warns against repeated exposure to problematic scenes, which can have a psychological impact on children.
“My guy is scared!” », Confided Tuesday Jessica Normandeau, while waiting for her 5-year-old son in front of the Victor-Rousselot school, in the South-West. “Before he started school, he had homeless people throwing cans and things like that at him. […] Since then, my son has always been afraid. When he starts screaming, he holds me really tight. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Maison Benoît-Labre opened a day center and a supervised consumption place near the Victor-Rousselot school. A project which had faced opposition in the neighborhood.
A few meters away, Maison Benoît-Labre opened a day center and a supervised consumption place last month. At the time of the passage of The Press, a dozen visibly vulnerable people are installed around the building, a conflict seeming to oppose some of them. A man and a woman are lying on a nearby street corner, embracing. At the end of classes, school employees install small cones to block off the part of the courtyard adjacent to the duo’s makeshift shelter.
It is far from being the only place in Montreal where cohabitation is difficult. At the CPE Le Petit Palais, rue Viger Ouest, children no longer go out for walks in the neighborhood without police escort.
“We live with a lot of people who are intoxicated, who are aggressive,” said general director Sylvie Chabot, who also reported an episode of masturbation in front of toddlers.
It’s not normal to have to walk around a CPE with police officers.
Sylvie Chabot, general director of CPE Le Petit Palais
Outings are reduced to the strict minimum and only the oldest take advantage of them: “not the little ones who have small legs, if something happened…”
It is the only CPE in the city center that uses an escort for its walks, indicated the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The courtyard of the CPE La Petite Colonie, Stanley Street, in downtown Montreal
In the courtyard of the CPE La Petite Colonie, rue Stanley, it was rather to report a body in the courtyard that the police were called last February. “My boy no longer wants to walk on the sidewalk, if he doesn’t hold my hand, when there are homeless people,” reported the president of the local board of directors, Marie-Ève Bisson. He will be 5 years old in July. »
“We must protect children”
For their development, children can easily be exposed to social diversity, but must be protected against situations that make them feel insecure. This is what the former president of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec, Rose-Marie Charest, explained in an interview with The Press.
“I think we need to protect children from too much exposure to violence, to sexuality, to the problems that drugs can cause,” she explained. “We are talking about protecting the child against intrusion into his privacy, but he must not be overexposed to the privacy of others either. »
Children, particularly those who live in cities, will “anyway” be exposed to different situations. But “it is absolutely necessary for the child to feel in a safe place, a peaceful place”, repeats Mme Charest.
This is not the case for the 8-year-old daughter of Stéphanie Larin, another mother from the Victor-Rousselot school. “My daughter doesn’t even want to come to school anymore,” she explained, just before the end of class bell rang. She said to me: “Mom, I’m scared, it’s still screaming.” She is afraid to come to school. »
The Montreal school service center (CSSDM) confirmed that the Victor-Rousselot school had counted 28 “disruptive events” during the first four weeks of opening of the Maison Benoît-Labre day center, i.e. more than one per weekday. These are “disturbing events for the school, but which do not necessarily compromise the safety of students,” specifies the organization.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Work at the Maison Benoît-Labre day center in the South-West has not yet been completed, which limits the use of the space, says the organization’s general director.
Andréane Désilets, the general director of the community group, acknowledged that “it is not easy at the moment” in terms of cohabitation. In particular, she pointed out the closure of winter shelters and the acceleration of the dismantling of camps, which push people towards its resource. Exterior work continues to limit the use of a courtyard that would keep users away from the schoolyard, she added.
Inevitable proximity
At the City of Montreal, the person responsible for housing on the executive committee assured that he understood the parents, while putting the situation into perspective.
“We always want the best for our children, we always want it to be calm, to be cozy. I understand that at the moment there are parents who are worried about the increase in homelessness,” said Benoit Dorais, on the sidelines of an announcement on housing.
“There is an increase in vulnerability crises of all kinds. I think it’s a collective challenge, a societal challenge,” he continued. “That said, it’s not just in Montreal. […] This is currently happening in Granby, Saint-Hyacinthe, Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Quebec. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Family on the way to school, in the South-West
Marie-Ève Bisson, president of the board of directors of CPE La Petite Colonie, believes for her part that city hall is abdicating its responsibilities towards young Montrealers who live in or frequent central neighborhoods.
“The City really prioritizes the homeless over the safety of children,” said M.me Bisson, visibly exasperated after several unsuccessful meetings with municipal authorities.
“In every meeting I have with the City, it emerges that we must prioritize cohabitation with the homeless and that there is no other solution. The city created this problem [en autorisant l’installation du refuge] and there is never a solution proposed. »
At the last municipal council, in mid-May, the administration’s urban planning manager confirmed that proximity to children was not analyzed when the City must approve the location of a shelter or other service. .
“Unfortunately, we cannot take these proximities into consideration in the installation of this type of use,” said Robert Beaudry. What we do is ensure that measures are put in place to minimize the impacts. Because in Montreal, we have daycare centers, schools and youth services on almost every street corner. »