I am very concerned about the homelessness situation in Gatineau. I speak regularly with the organizations and I realize the extent and the workload of their teams. These are at the end of their resources and exhausted. Faced with the critical situation we are facing, I would like to bring the community’s concerns and possible solutions to the Government of Quebec. This is why I requested an emergency meeting with the Minister responsible for Social Services, Mr. Lionel Carmant.
I invited him to meet with our organizations to see the reality on the ground.
In recent months, several municipalities in Quebec have experienced a marked increase in homelessness. Gatineau is no exception. A recent census counts no fewer than 1,200 to 1,500 homeless people in the city. Our proximity to Ottawa makes Gatineau a metropolitan area comparable to Montreal.
If the origins of this situation are multiple, the disengagement of the government of Quebec with regard to health and social services, coupled with the difficulties of access to certain services, particularly in mental health, are certainly among the main reasons.
The consequences of the health crisis and the housing crisis — the vacancy rate in Gatineau is 0.8% — have amplified the phenomenon. More and more people find themselves on the street, with no other possible recourse. This is the case for nearly 200 low-income households since the beginning of the year. These are not cases of substance abuse, mental health issues or addictions.
We also have significant shortcomings in emergency and specialized accommodation services on the territory. The drop-in heat service, for example, benefits from non-recurring funding that will end in the spring. No permanent solution is currently planned. Every year, it is to start again. This instability weakens the people who use the service, but also exhausts the extraordinary and dedicated teams of our community organizations.
There is a huge gap between the needs and the human and financial resources available. The City of Gatineau is sometimes a leader, collaborator or partner in homelessness, depending on the needs and the files. Called upon to intervene in a field of jurisdiction that is not its own, our city, like many in Quebec, remains the front-line responder during crises, in the name of the quality of life of citizens. The citizens of our cities are also citizens of Quebec. As such, the action must be collective, but requires the clear determination of the accounts that each of the partners must render.
The pressure on the municipal (and especially on the community) is great in a range of interventions that is constantly widening. Cities are truly filling a great void unfortunately left by the Government of Quebec.
More sustained leadership from Quebec is needed, because cities want to be part of the solution for the benefit of all their citizens.