A growing number of asylum seekers in Quebec puts great pressure on the network of social and community services, in particular on Montreal shelters for people experiencing homelessness.
France Labelle, who co-founded the Refuge des jeunes de Montréal some 30 years ago, sponsored by Dan Bigras, said that her organization receives about 500 people a year and that since the spring, it has helped 57 job seekers. asylum. In 2021, the number of potential refugees seeking refuge in her organization was much lower, she said, although she cannot cite official figures. She points out that her shelter is currently at capacity.
The federal administrative delays in the asylum application process and the lack of resources of community organizations that take care of potential refugees are forcing this vulnerable clientele to turn to shelters for people experiencing homelessness, said Ms. Labelle. in interview.
“It’s not that we don’t want to welcome these people, because community organizations have a vocation to welcome, support, a humanitarian vocation, but it’s that the network is already saturated. , did she say. And then it’s winter: we’re already running out of places. »
The federal administrative delays in the asylum application process and the lack of resources of community organizations that take care of potential refugees force this vulnerable clientele to turn to shelters for people experiencing homelessness, underlined in an interview. Mrs Labelle.
The federal government says that between January and November of last year, 45,250 asylum seekers arrived in Quebec. The previous year, 7,290 refugee candidates had entered Canada through Quebec.
Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission, has also seen an increase in the number of asylum seekers looking for accommodation with his organization in recent months. He believes that homelessness among the refugee claimant population in Montreal is a relatively new phenomenon.
Since last August, the various shelters of the Welcome Hall Mission have been receiving approximately 37 asylum seekers each month, he said. “It goes up to 46 in some months, and these people usually stay between 12 and 19 days,” Watts said in a recent interview.
“I think I can confirm what everyone will tell you: it has an impact on all services, because even though we serve around 340 people every day in our network, the fact that there are 40 additional people has an impact. We see it and we feel it. »
Ms. Labelle explains that the majority of asylum seekers seeking shelter in her refuge had arrived by plane from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi or Senegal. “What is increasing, a little more, are young Mexicans, we also have young Haitians. »
“And the stories are different: some are here to flee the war, others are fleeing drug traffickers,” she says. For some, it has to do with their sexual orientation […] Out of about fifty young people, about fifteen of them have been identified with mental health problems that would require help and care. »
Avoiding the “crisis” of services under pressure
In addition to the increase in requests for accommodation, there is also an increase in demand for the Welcome Hall Mission food bank, adds Sam Watts
“We usually served about 6,000 people each month […] and that number has risen to 7,000, and at least half of that increase is attributable to a variety of new arrivals. They may just be newcomers to the city, but many of them are refugees and asylum seekers [au Canada]. »
The Regional Program for the Reception and Integration of Asylum Seekers in Quebec is responsible for providing services to asylum seekers such as temporary accommodation, health care and information on the asylum process. immigration. Spokespersons for this program declined a request for an interview and referred questions to the federal Department of Immigration.
But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in an email that housing refugee claimants remains a provincial responsibility, adding that the federal government is committed to working with the provinces to help ease the pressure.
Premier François Legault said last month that his government needed Ottawa’s help to house, educate and integrate a growing number of refugee claimants into Quebec.
Catherine Pappas, director of a community development organization in the Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges, points out that her neighborhood has been hard hit by the growing number of asylum seekers who need help. She wants the government to intervene before the situation becomes unsustainable.
“There is a disempowerment of the two governments, in fact: one returns the ball to the other, denounced Ms. Pappas on Wednesday. So there’s not a lot of coordination in the management of this crisis — because it’s a crisis! Well, is this a humanitarian crisis? It is clearly a social crisis that is taking shape. »
At the Refuge des jeunes de Montréal, Ms. Labelle’s words resonate in a similar way. This emphasizes that adequate funding for shelters and other social and community resources is necessary to meet the growing needs of asylum seekers arriving in the city.
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchanges and The Canadian Press for the news.