Two projects financed by Quebec will attempt to relieve the pressure exerted by homelessness on the Latin Quarter: a heat stop will be offered at UQAM and a worker will be stationed at the Grande Bibliothèque, where many homeless people take refuge .
The government is investing $190,000 for the next year in these two pilot projects, the Minister responsible for Social Solidarity and Community Action, Chantal Rouleau, announced Thursday at a press conference.
“The number of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion has increased drastically since the pandemic, there is really something that has happened everywhere in Quebec, underlined the minister. These people are visible everywhere in Montreal, particularly in the Latin Quarter. »
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The Minister responsible for Social Solidarity and Community Action, Chantal Rouleau.
The Grande Bibliothèque, in the heart of the neighborhood, attracts many homeless people who spend time there to rest and warm up. But intervening with them is not always easy for librarians, explains the president and CEO of Bibliothèque et Archives nationaux du Québec (BAnQ), Marie Grégoire.
We need to have access to people specialized in this field, to work with a more difficult clientele. When people are more agitated, specialized workers know how to reduce the pressure to successfully establish a relationship with these people.
Marie Grégoire, President and CEO of Bibliothèque et Archives nationaux du Québec (BAnQ)
Right next door, UQAM has also decided to do its part to help the homeless in the area: on very cold nights, a 50-seat shelter will be open in a university pavilion, with the help of three workers from the Social Development Corporation.
“They will find heat, hot drinks, food, gloves, mittens, hats, winter clothing and of course rest areas,” announces Stéphane Pallage, rector of UQAM.
Asked about the proliferation of homeless encampments in the metropolis, Minister Rouleau responded by explaining that Thursday’s announcement was a concrete example of the government’s action.
“But the most structuring offensive is the construction of new housing. The entire government is in action on this subject,” she assured.