The disappearances of adolescents throughout Quebec have almost quadrupled in recent years and more than half of them concern young people from youth centers.
• Read also: 16 disappearance reports per day in Quebec
“I’m not surprised,” says author and speaker Nancy Audet with aplomb, who herself was taken care of by the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ) during her youth. Young people feel suffocated, they live with restraints, isolation measures, and still a lot of repression. I understand them needing air.”
Author and speaker Nancy Audet.
Photo Courtesy, Moi et Cie
According to statistics provided by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the disappearances of adolescents aged 13 to 17 have exploded, going from 696 in 2018 to 2,520 last year.
While nearly 60% of cases concern youth centers, a third are young people who disappear from their home or from a member of their family. The regions where cases are most common are Montérégie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
However, it is difficult to explain this phenomenon since each disappearance is different. Prevention remains the best solution, according to Mélanie Aubut, general director of the Réseau Enfants-Retour. His organization also offers workshops for elementary school children which aim to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and which aim to reduce the risk of running away during adolescence.
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New squad
Following the submission of the Green Paper on the police, the SQ created, in 2022, a new squad responsible for the disappearances of people of all ages. Its role is to support investigators from all regions.
When it comes to a minor, the police are generally quicker to respond due to the vulnerability of the person. As soon as the disappearance is reported, all investigative steps are taken to find the young person as quickly as possible. Moreover, when it comes to children, parents or caregivers tend to report disappearances much more quickly than when it involves an adult. Consequently, the rate of resolution of missing children is significantly higher.
When it comes to adolescents, not surprisingly, the most effective investigation techniques are those linked to their cell phones. If social networks are generally demonized for young people, in cases of disappearance, they become real little gold mines for investigators.
“Teenagers have phones early in their lives now, so quickly, we will try to geolocate them,” explains Lieutenant Carl Boulianne, in charge of the Integrated Team in Coordination of Disappearances and Kidnappings at the SQ. Sometimes they will publish a selfie of them in front of a restaurant, or they will disclose their location to their friends. Thanks to social networks, it’s easier to get in touch with those around them.”
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75% return before 24 hours
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), which manages youth centers, has also noted an increase in runaways in many regions. However, it is noted that 75% of these last less than a day and that a small number of users are responsible for the majority of runaways.
The congestion of certain centers, the labor shortage and the increased complexity of the needs of young people explain, among other things, this increase, according to the MSSS. The national director of the DPJ, Catherine Lemay, refused our interview request.
The Journal sent the same request for statistics to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), which was not able to provide figures within a reasonable time and which instead referred us to the Law of access to information.
Ex-runaways testify: “A very prison environment”
Former runaways from youth centers are sad to see that conditions have changed very little since their stay and say they understand better than anyone the feeling of helplessness and isolation felt by these children.
“It’s a very prison environment,” says Kevin Champoux Duquette, who ran away 33 times between the ages of 11 and 17. The walls are made of concrete and your space is no bigger than the gap between your two arms. The windows, if you have them, are mesh. There are intercoms in the rooms and they play music even if you don’t want to hear it. At night, they come to check us with their flash lights.”
Kevin Champoux Duquette, co-founder of the Collectif Ex-placed DPJ.
Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
The young man, who has since co-founded the Collective Ex-placed DPJ, remembers the moment he saw the show Unit 9 on the television. For him, it was almost identical to what he had experienced.
More adapted
The director of the organization, Jessica Côté-Guimond, believes that a large proportion of runaways could be avoided if the services offered in youth centers were more adapted to the needs of young people.
“We take several detours to say things, but the truth is that these are prisons for minors,” says the woman who also co-founded the collective. The culture is oriented towards risk management, monitoring and control. We don’t listen to young people, who have all experienced trauma before arriving here.”
According to her, some of the conditions in which young people live are reasons given for refusing people to become foster families, such as the absence of windows. Last summer, The newspaper also reported that the Rehabilitation Center for young people with adjustment difficulties at Mont Saint-Antoine, a youth center in Montreal, was in total disrepair. In addition to tiles literally falling from the ceiling, mushrooms were discovered in the bathrooms in addition to field mice and squirrels taking up residence there.
“I ran away because I felt like I didn’t have control over my life,” says M.me Côté-Guimond, who herself was placed by the DPJ in her youth. Young people need to experiment, to explore, and this is even more true for those who arrive with baggage like in a youth center.”
Unable to spend a week there
For author and speaker Nancy Audet, who meets hundreds of young people each year, it is essential to tackle this scourge and help young people feel better in the center.
“Currently, I don’t know anyone, not even an adult, who would be able to spend a week in conditions like that,” she says.