Hard hit by the housing crisis, more and more young people are knocking on the doors of shelters dedicated to youth homelessness in Quebec. The total number of requests for accommodation received by a dozen of these centres has climbed by approximately 28% in one year, according to data obtained by The duty. Bursting at the seams, many of these resources are forced to refuse to take in people who need them.
“Right now, there is no one getting out of homelessness, there are only people entering it. There is no housing or it is too expensive,” laments Johanne Cooper, general director of Maison Tangente. Located in the Montreal neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, this resource is one of 32 members of the Regroupement des Auberges du coeur, which has a total of 34 shelters.
The latter welcome homeless or disadvantaged young people aged 12 to 35. According to information from The duty was able to collect from ten of these organizations serving different regions, 4,023 requests for accommodation were received in total in 2023-2024, compared to 3,154 in 2022-2023. For the same period, the average number of refusals they had to make increased from 75% to 79%, mainly due to the lack of space.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” says Paule Dalphond, general director of the Regroupement des Auberges du coeur. Without being able to provide specific data, she says that the overall picture of its 32 members also points to an increase in requests for accommodation and an increase in the refusal rate.
Met at Maison Tangente, Jessica Pinel Morneau, 27, says she stayed there twice from 2021 to 2023, after finding herself on the street. In this place with large windows that many call their “home,” up to 21 homeless youth aged 18 to 25 can be accommodated, all genders and sexes combined. The place offers short- or medium-term accommodation, as well as transitional housing, where it is possible to acquire the autonomy necessary to stay in an apartment permanently.
Jovial and full of energy, Jessica speaks with a hint of anger in her voice when she talks about her struggle to find a home. “I was frustrated and discouraged. I thought I would never find an apartment. It took so long, almost a year,” she sighs.
Since last October, she now has a roof over her head, which means she is doing much better than before, she assures us, with a big smile. “I found my cat again, that my sister looked after while I was in a shelter. I also found my will to live again,” she confides, her eyes sparkling.
When passing the Duty at Tangente House in June, Jessica had gone to the organization to get food and prepare meals. Every Wednesday is a food day, and all former residents of the place can come and take advantage of it. The smell of spaghetti sauce emanated from the bright kitchen, which was crowded that afternoon, a sign that this is a popular service.
“Hidden” roaming
According to the most recent report on the count of people experiencing homelessness in Quebec, which was conducted on October 11, 2022, young people under the age of 30 had used transitional housing more than other types of resources. However, they had been proportionally less likely than other age groups to have spent a night in emergency shelter in the last 12 months before the count.
Since the early 2000s, youth homelessness has no longer occupied the streets in the same way and has largely become invisible, the report points out. Marie-Noëlle Perron, co-coordinator of Maison Tangente, explains that many young people experience “hidden” homelessness. They will sleep for a few days at a friend’s house, then at another’s, and so on, she says.
Met at the Montreal organization, where she once stayed, Christina Langlois-Mailloux, 26, says she found herself on the street in 2019. Since then, the voluble and charismatic young woman has stayed in shelters, but also with different people around her.
“I even slept one night with a friend in her car,” she says. “I felt empty, completely lost. I was afraid because I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I had lost hope in everything,” she adds.
Running out of options, some young people have to resort to living in homeless camps in the city, says Marie-Noëlle Perron. “It was a very traumatic experience for some of them. I’m not passing judgment on those who live in tents. It’s a solution to the social crisis and the housing crisis. But I’ve seen young people who went there because they had no other choice,” she says.
Mme Perron also says that he currently welcomes young people who would not have used the organization’s services a few years ago. “These are people who, for example, already have a job or are going to school full time. Before, they were able to find housing. Now, they contact us because even if they have a decent income and are independent, they can’t find apartments or pay the rent.”
More people coming to Tangente House are now taking harder drugs, such as stimulants, Cooper also notes. They also have more serious mental health problems than before, she observes, pointing to the lack of social services.
Joined by The dutythe office of Lionel Carmant, Minister responsible for Social Services, states in writing that it has “invested a lot” in youth mental health in recent times. In this regard, it mentions the Aire ouverte program, which offers psychosocial services to Quebecers aged 12 to 25. This initiative has borne fruit, according to it. “Among young people, we are seeing a reduction in waiting lists [en santé mentale] “, Mr. Carmant rejoiced in an interview with The Canadian Press at the end of June.
“Breaks”
Often, young people who end up on the streets have experienced “breakdowns” during their childhood, explains M.me Perron. According to the 2022 report on the count of people experiencing homelessness in Quebec, approximately three out of ten people experiencing homelessness had been placed by the DPJ in the past.
Time is running out to invest in this “profound wealth” that is young people, according to Véronique Girard, general director of SQUAT Basse-Ville, an Auberge du coeur located in Quebec City. “We are in the process of losing a good part of our youth,” she laments.
To remedy the situation, more funding must be allocated to prevent the social exclusion of young people and to ensure that the health and social services system is better adapted to their reality, she believes.me Girard believes that it is also essential to consolidate services for those who, despite everything, will fall through the cracks. Measures must be put in place so that young people can find decent and affordable housing, she emphasizes.
These are people who, for example, already have a job or go to school full time. Before, they were able to find housing. Now, they contact us because even though they have a decent income and are independent, they cannot find apartments or pay the rent.
For its part, the office of the Minister responsible for Social Services reiterates that building affordable housing remains the “best way” to prevent homelessness. “Housing projects specifically intended for young people in difficulty or who are leaving the DPJ are also emerging throughout Quebec,” it maintains.
Announcements regarding certain groups of young people who are more at risk of ending up on the streets than others, such as former children of the DPJ, are also planned for this fall, says Mr. Carmant’s office. “In 2022, we took an important first step by inserting into the law the possibility for these young people to receive DPJ services until the age of 25 and that they be provided with a life plan — which includes the housing aspect — for young people who reach 18 years of age,” he recalls.
In order to better support youth roaming organizations and better identify their needs, the Minister responsible for Youth, Mathieu Lacombe, met with the Regroupement des Auberges du coeur last Tuesday, his office said in Duty.