“I feel like I won the lottery!” » This is how Sophie [nous préservons sa sécurité par un prénom fictif] feels after leaving her house where violence reigned and entering the door of her new home, which she can afford thanks to the Quebec government’s rent supplement program (PSL). This initiative — very little known — pays a good part of the rent for women victims of domestic violence who do not know where to go to find safety when shelters are full and housing is overpriced. Dozens have already benefited and very recent changes to the program will help even more women.
“It’s a hidden gem, for a single mother who has nothing. Without that, it would have been difficult to get out of it,” Sophie confided in an interview.
Shelters for women victims of violence repeat it: it is extremely difficult for a woman to leave a dangerous relationship when she has nowhere to go. They often collect so that their children are not on the street.
Sophie, mother of four children, suffered violence from her partner, as was also the case with the previous one. “It happens little by little, you know,” she explains softly.
But when her daughter came to see her to tell her that her partner had sexually touched her, “it shattered everything.” The police were called, as was the DPJ. The man — who is not the father of the child — admitted to having taken these actions “to prepare her to have a boyfriend,” Sophie said.
She wanted to leave, to protect her daughter. But how ? The house belongs to the man who is now her ex-partner and Sophie, a stay-at-home mother, had “not a penny in her pocket”. The shelters in his region were all full. She called every day until a room became available: “I cried. »
She spent two months there, “in a state of shock”. She has only good words for the workers who helped and supported her in all kinds of ways. But with five in a room, this could only be a temporary situation.
Since no low-income housing was available, the workers spoke to her about the rent supplement program (PSL). She submitted a request, and received a positive response two days later. “It was super quick. I screamed with joy,” she says, still astonished.
25% of income
The PSL allows someone like Sophie, who has a low income and who meets certain criteria, to find accommodation on the private rental market. She pays rent corresponding to 25% of her income, as would be the case in an HLM, and the PSL pays the rest – there are limits, obviously, because the program will not finance a penthouse luxury.
Today, Sophie wants women to be aware of the existence of this program which can make all the difference in their lives and that of their children.
When there is no low-rent housing and a woman has low income, the PSL allows her to avoid slums and unsafe places, explained Annick Brazeau, general director of the shelter. For them of the Deux Vallées, located in Outaouais.
Women receive a letter confirming the government’s financial commitment, which they can show to homeowners. It’s reassuring for them, explains Mme Brazeau, who is also the president of the Group of houses for women victims of domestic violence.
“There is something positive too, and women need to hear it, otherwise they will never leave. »
In the shelter where she stayed, Sophie saw women returning to their abusive partners because they then had nowhere to go.
More help on the horizon
When the PSL specially allocated to victims of domestic violence was established, it was limited to 100 people for the year 2021-2022, specified the Société d’habitation du Québec, which manages and partly finances the program. But the rules have since changed: the number of PSLs assigned to vulnerable clients has really increased, note Mme Brazeau. Victims of domestic violence no longer form a separate clientele, but they are not penalized by the change in terminology and they remain a priority, she assures. “Before, in Outaouais, we had just 20 PSLs: now, we have more for women. »
The program is also now available in all regions of Quebec, she specifies.
No need to have made a police complaint against the spouse and no need to have lived in a shelter or shelter, explains Mme Brazeau. The person seeking to obtain it must, however, have received help services for their situation.
In addition, for about a month, another change has been introduced, she rejoices: women victims of violence who are not permanent residents also have access to the PSL.
If the program has been “a real success” in Outaouais, she knows from her colleagues in other regions of Quebec that women beneficiaries are sometimes discriminated against.
For Sophie, life took a new turn: she completed her secondary 5 equivalent and enrolled in CEGEP. As for his children, they “are super happy” in their new house with a park nearby where they have made “lots of little friends”.