Protesters denounce ‘persistent hatred’ towards homeless population after woman struck by vehicle in Brossard

Dozens gathered in Brossard Tuesday to protest the allegedly deliberate hit and run of a homeless woman last week.

BACKGROUND: Brossard community advocates speak out after homeless woman allegedly victim of hit-and-run

The protesters and advocates condemned the incident, calling it part of the “persistent hatred, contempt, and indifference” towards society’s most vulnerable. They also called for governments to do more to solve the housing crisis.

“We cannot accept a situation like that. We cannot accept violence,” said Johanne Nasstrom, the director of Table Régionale des Organismes Communautaires (TROC) Montérégie. “We cannot accept a community that doesn’t help the people, the most in a vulnerable situation.

“We must say no to violence, and we must ask our governments to act on those situations.”

The woman who was struck, 44-year-old Caroline Derome, was present at Tuesday’s rally. Her right leg was in a cast, and she was walking with crutches. Her right knee was scraped and bruised.

“I never expected that a thing like that could happen, of course,” Derome said. “It’s terrible. I don’t understand right now what passed through the mind of this person.”

She called what happened to her an act of extreme violence that is not isolated, and reflects an increasingly larger issue.

“I have a lot of friends who’s living literally 100 per cent of the time in tents and camp, and the way they are treated, it makes no sense. Like, they close camp without any humanity, without giving any help.

“Things have to change.”

Longueil police allege a 46-year-old man purposely struck Derome with a vehicle in Brossard on May 27. The suspect, Luigi Fragomele, was arrested and charged with four offences, including assault with a weapon and hit and run. He remains detained until Thursday, when he’s back in court for a bail hearing.

Tuesday’s demonstration took place not far from where Derome was hit.

Advocates and Derome note the continued struggles with the housing crisis are a major problem, with Derome saying she has experienced this first hand.

“I don’t have any address of my home for a year. It’s impossible to get,” Derome said. “And I have children living in Montreal, so this is the hardest point. So I wish I could go back to Montreal, but it’s impossible.

“They have to do something like the rent explosion, the price of the rent, that makes no sense. It’s impossible for a person with a normal salary to have a unit — not a house, a unit, a small unit.”

“We have a serious problem right now,” added Nasstrom. “The 1st of July is coming soon, and many people will be in a situation without a place to live.”

Derome says she is in constant contact with her family and expects a recovery following the incident. She did not comment on the incident itself.

According to 2022 census data , Montérégie — where Brossard is located — ranked as the third region with the highest rate of homelessness, with an increase of 98 per cent compared to the 2018 census.

In her opening speech at the protest, Derome said the crisis impacts many, and that vulnerable people have few or no options for meeting their basic needs.

“They are unfairly held responsible for finding themselves in a situation they did not choose,” she said. “Homelessness affects a growing number of people. The problem becomes more complex.

“The denial of the rights of people in situations where they are at risk of becoming homeless weakens the social fabric and the social realities necessary for their reintegration. Faced with these increasingly complex situations, prevention remains an essential lever that has proven its worth, but remains insufficiently mobilized to effectively reduce homelessness upstream.”

Tuesday’s rally was organized by TROC-Montérégie, Table Itinérance Rive-Sud (TIRS), and the Table de concertation de Brossard (TCB).

“We needed to do this to show to people in Caroline’s situation that we are there and we don’t want this,” Nasstrom said.