When homelessness becomes a blame game, where's the real help?
- Tania Charron
- Oct 21, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Aug 14
Media:
Le Journal de Montréal
Summary:
In Montréal, encampments are multiplying and dismantlements are taking place one after another, while long-term solutions remain out of reach. Community street work organizations (OCTR) are on the front lines, but struggle to meet the scale of the crisis, facing overdoses, a housing shortage, and social tensions.
The signatories denounce the lack of structural support from governments, budget cuts, and certain interventions—such as the ÉMMIS—that displace people without offering lasting solutions. The multiplication of parallel approaches in the field undermines the trust-based relationships that street workers have built over many years.
They emphasize that homelessness is a humanitarian crisis, not merely a public nuisance issue. They call for a comprehensive action plan, developed with elected officials and the community, to address root causes: lack of emergency shelter and social housing, contaminated drug supply, and absence of adequate support for people in deep poverty.
Their demands include:
Adequate and sustained funding for OCTRs and organizations involved;
An end to multiplying competing approaches, in favor of recognizing proven field expertise;
Constructive dialogue and a coherent interministerial plan.
The Montréal delegation of the ROCQTR and its supporters urge moving away from short-term crisis responses toward sustained collective mobilization, political will, and concrete action.
Link to the full article:
