Hundreds are still unhoused in Montreal one day after moving day
Posted July 2, 2024 4:47 pm.
Last Updated July 2, 2024 7:06 pm.
Quebec’s July 1st moving day has come and gone and while many are settled in their new homes, hundreds of households in the province still don’t have a place to call home.
The Office Municipal d’Habitation de Montréal (OMHM) reported 639 requests for help since Monday. Last year, that number was 504. The OMHM says that so far, only 37 households have found new accommodations.
At Resilience Montreal, a day-shelter in downtown Montreal, moving day means an increase in people using its services.
“Usually at the first of the month people do have a little bit of money but by next week we’re going to see a lot more people coming in,” said Vicki McDonald, an intervention worker at Resilience Montreal.
“It’s people who have aged out of the system. It’s elderly people. It’s elderly people. It is men, women, all age groups,” she adds.
David Chapman, executive director at Resilience Montreal says nearly half of the people using their services have a place to live however, most of their paycheques go towards paying rent.
“The general trajectory of the last three or four years is pretty scary,” said Chapman.
In January, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Montreal had risen by a record 7.9 per cent in 2023, significantly outpacing the average wage increase of 4.5 per cent.
André Castonguay of Réseau québécois des OSBL d’habitation says all three levels of government need to efficiently work together in order to fast track housing projects.
“It’s more than a housing crisis. It’s a social crisis,” said Castonguay.
“Sadly, it seems that there’s going to be a lot of unhoused people for a long time and what’s a bit scary is are we really prepared?” said Chapman.
