The thorny issue of homeless encampments

It’s a perilous balancing act that Montreal has had to do in its management of homeless encampments for some time.

I’m talking about Montreal, but I could also mention Gatineau, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Granby…

We learned on Tuesday, from the writings of Gabrielle Duchaine and Caroline Touzin, that the metropolitan authorities have dismantled at least 460 homeless encampments this year.¹. The majority is located in the central district of Ville-Marie (420).

This is four times more than in 2021.

A huge figure, and undoubtedly underestimated, since the compilation of statistics varies from one district to another.

We are mainly talking about small groups of tents, between one and five, clustered together in parks, under bridges, in vacant lots. And others, larger, like the one located under the concrete structure of the Ville-Marie highway, which was dismantled in July following a highly publicized legal process².

My colleagues’ investigation made it possible to draw up a portrait of the situation for the very first time. The data, although incomplete, show that the phenomenon has exploded in the metropolis, a sign of a terrible worsening of the living conditions of our most “poor”.

It can be tough in these camps, with the strong presence of chemical drugs, mental health problems, frequent fights, sexual assaults… There are also the risks of fire, posed by makeshift heaters, and this possibility , very real, to die of cold.

It is primarily to protect the itinerant population that the City of Montreal is dismantling so many camps, Mayor Valérie Plante defended at a press conference on Tuesday.

A matter of public safety, in short. It’s completely defensible.

Beyond the statistics, the survey The Press highlighted a clash of visions in this matter.

More precisely: should the nuisance caused by these camps to their neighbors weigh in the balance when dismantling them? Professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Montreal Sue-Ann MacDonald, interviewed by my colleagues, seems to brush aside this consideration.

I quote her: “Putting people out when they are already out, what is the goal? Please other residents of the neighborhood and merchants? »

I would like to say that one does not exclude the other.

We can be concerned about the (very concrete) risks incurred by the occupants of these camps AND take into account the impacts on local residents. It is even the duty of municipal authorities to ensure public order.

Over the past year, I have received several messages from Montrealers, especially Montrealers, filled with empathy towards the homeless, but also increasingly worried about their strong presence just a stone’s throw from their homes and workplaces.

Their feelings of insecurity are very real and should not be minimized or taken out of the equation.

It is therefore on this thin line, between the protection of the homeless and that of their citizens and merchants, that the leaders of all major Quebec cities must navigate. Solutions differ from place to place. But almost everywhere, we are coming to the conclusion that the camps present more risks than benefits, for lack of a better word.

The former mayor of Gatineau, Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, explains very well the observation he arrived at in 2015. After a two-year pilot project, which made it possible to maintain and supervise a camp in the city center, his administration had to resolve to dismantle it³.

Too unmanageable and dangerous for everyone.

The question that kills now. What to do with the homeless once their camps are dismantled?

This is the crux of the matter, the crux of the problem, and undoubtedly the reason why the debates around this issue are so acrimonious.

There is not enough space anywhere to accommodate them. There is also, and perhaps above all, a lack of suitable places to house the most marginalized, for example those who use hard drugs every day or own animals (several shelters refuse them). Those who most often end up in camps.

I spoke to leaders of homeless organizations on Tuesday. Many protest against the mass dismantling, but above all deplore the few “alternatives” to the camps. They are out of breath and exasperated by the lack of an overall strategy on the issue of homelessness.

“It takes a plan, and currently, we don’t have a plan,” Sam Watts, CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, summed up for me.

Everyone agrees that we need to build more housing, and provide the social services that come with it.

But until the pace perhaps meets demand – we can always dream – we still need to properly house these homeless people. NOW.

Ottawa and Quebec have both confirmed additional investments in homelessness, which will notably make it possible to buy old rooming houses and build some new buildings. The City of Montreal will also install a temporary shelter in a former residence for the elderly that it has just purchased, in Verdun⁴.

The vacant building was quickly converted to accommodate homeless people evicted from the Guy-Favreau Complex. We must increase this type of flash conversions, even temporary, since the situation is worse than ever on the streets.

Just an idea. Montreal has a stock of almost 80 vacant buildings, which belong to it⁵. Could she convert even a handful, at least for a few winters?

The administration says no, but many need to be convinced – myself included.