In Quebec, young adults leaving youth centers have new residential options thanks to the Maison Mère-Mallet and the Le Zénith project. A more than welcome offer in the midst of the homelessness crisis.
Malik, 18, was in a situation of virtual homelessness when he was offered the opportunity to live at Maison Mère-Mallet last summer.
It was a “stepping stone” for him, he said. “I completed the entire journey of early adult life here. I had ups and downs. Mainly highs because things were going very well here,” said the big guy during a meeting with The duty this autumn.
Located a stone’s throw from the Youville square, the Maison Mère-Mallet is a former residence of the congregation of the Sisters of Charity. In 2013, the Dallaire real estate group foundation bought it with the aim of perpetuating its mission of helping the poor.
Since May 2022, a section of the building has served as transitional housing for young adults like Malik, who are leaving youth centers (CJ). A crucial resource since 20% of young people who leave the CJ when they reach the age of majority experience episodes of homelessness.
The residents of Mère-Mallet live somewhat like roommates in a large seven and a half room apartment with five bedrooms, a kitchen and a common living room.
Malik says he “almost shed tears” when he saw the room they offered him. “It was huge,” he said. “I was coming out of a room that was six, seven square feet at the youth center. »
But the greatest contrast between Mère-Mallet and the CJ lies in the level of autonomy offered to young people.
There is a security guard on site, and that’s it. For the rest, everyone manages. Alexandre Hins, the social worker responsible for the residence, comes around from time to time, but just to make himself available if a young person wants to chat.
“I didn’t want to have a big list of regulations posted on the walls,” explains the speaker, whom Malik nicknames “Alex”. “We put them in real life, they have their key, it’s their home. »
Conversely, “everything is managed” in the youth center, Malik emphasizes. “It’s the housekeeper who does the cleaning, the cooks who make the food, the educators who say it’s time to go to bed, time to take a shower and time to take his medication. »
Since the opening of Mère-Mallet, around twenty young people have resided there. Among them, two had to be deported. The framework is not too rigid, emphasizes Alex. But every young person must have a plan. And if he doesn’t commit to the process, it doesn’t work.
“Another child”
Malik was 16 years old when he found himself at Le Gouvernail, the youth center for boys in Quebec. Discreet about his past, he insists on saying that he had to deal with his “demons”, particularly with consumption problems.
And that all of this was not resolved when he turned 18.
“When I left the youth center, I was still a child. Then when I arrived here, I became an adult. »
How ? “I needed a great sense of accomplishment,” he says, adding that’s where he first felt the signs.
But still ? The head of department, Christian Dufour, summarizes. “Very often, they look forward to having freedom, to being an adult, but they don’t see what the apartment issues are. » Autonomy is therefore accompanied by great “loneliness”.
When Malik arrived, he was not well at all. A stay in another resort had gone badly. Alex even says that they took a risk by accepting it.
However, today, Malik looks like a model ex-boarder. It is not for nothing that the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) called on him to recount his experience to the journalist from Duty.
Calm, thoughtful, he talks about how determined he was to do everything possible to keep his place at Mère-Mallet.
However, after three months, he was ready to take another step. A few days before our meeting, he went to live in the studio of a resource with minimal supervision. He works in a fruit store and cherishes the dream of returning to his studies to become… a social worker.
“I have my own job, I have my own studio. It’s in my name. I pay for my stuff every month and so far it’s going great. »
Labeaume and Le Zénith
Other organizations offer accommodation to young adults in Quebec, such as Squat Basse-Ville with its 17 apartments. However, the waiting list had 27 names this fall.
However, in addition to Mère-Mallet, resources are being added. Thus, a new location — Le Zénith — is due to open its doors in 2025. Located in the Saint-Roch district, rue du Prince-Édouard, it will be able to accommodate 17 young adults.
The project was notably propelled in 2019 by former mayor Régis Labeaume, who wanted to do something for young people leaving the Youth Protection sector.
The mayor proposed using former Hydro-Québec land. The CIUSSS jumped at the opportunity, says Amélie Morin, deputy director general for partnerships, social services and rehabilitation at the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale.
“We wanted to offer something different to our young people and, there, we had the opening of the mayor of Quebec! » she remembers.
“If young people are residentially stable, they have a much greater chance of integrating socially and professionally. From there came the idea of launching the Zénith project. »
Before and after
The Zénith approach is very similar to that of Mère-Mallet. But it takes the logic further by offering, under the same roof, accommodation with different levels of autonomy.
“We have 10 places in group homes for 16-18 year olds, who will be able to migrate to supervised studios [19 places]. Then it will be possible to have completely autonomous housing [10] », explains Mme Morin.
However, of the 108 apartments in the building, only 39 will be intended for young people. Why when we know that between 100 and 125 young people leave the region’s youth centers each year? “We convinced the mayor that we had to encourage social diversity. Otherwise, we reproduce a ghetto,” she emphasizes.
The transition of young people from the DPJ to adulthood is at the heart of M’s professional career.me Morin. 20 years ago, she took part in the Youth Qualification Program (PQJ), which was cited as an example in the recommendations of the Laurent commission.
The PQJ offers young CJs who wish to be accompanied by a social worker in the months preceding their release so that they are better prepared when they turn 18.
They are also present in the months following the majority to make the slope less steep. Malik is one of the young people who always benefit from it. And he welcomes it.