Consultations on the fight against homelessness in Quebec have lifted the veil on the increase in needs in Beauport, far from the Saint-Roch district which is traditionally associated with the phenomenon.
This leads to “difficult cohabitation situations for the people of the sector”, can we read in the progress report of a consultation carried out by the city.
Since the pandemic, the increase in homelessness needs in the Saint-Roch district has given rise to lively local debates in Quebec. However, the consultation documents made public by Quebec on Wednesday reveal that Beauport is also a source of concern.
From 2020, street workers noticed an increase in homelessness there, according to a brief submitted to the city by the Table de Concertation Itinérance et Errance Beauport. However, the phenomenon now also takes the form of camps set up along the bike path, near the river, in particular in Parc Boisvert.
La Table, which seeks to mobilize local organizations, deplores the fact that no organization is “100%” dedicated to this issue. Consequently, “many organizations in the field” are called upon to “give more” to “meet needs” often “by deviating from their basic mission”.
The City of Quebec made public on Wednesday a preliminary version of its “Vision on homelessness”, the final version of which must be adopted in December. In the meantime, she would again like to sound out the interested groups on what was presented.
Remember that the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, has promoted zero homelessness as an ideal since entering politics.
In April, Mr. Marchand and other elected municipal officials urged the government to create a “national workcamp” to deal with the growing homelessness needs outside Montreal.