Quebec Launches Homelessness Inquiry

Homelessness is no longer only a problem for big cities, suburban homeless shelter workers told a National Assembly task force last week.
Group Action Solutions Pauvreté (GASP) of the Haute-Yamaska region has seen a rise of over 30 per cent in the number of homeless people in their area. With their shelters already at full capacity, they must turn people away.
GASP shelters throughout Quebec have refused more than 7,000 people in the past year.
“A shelter offers a sense of security,” said Richard Newberry, who lost his home and his job to gambling and drug addiction. Newberry said shelters have kept him safe and that people refused at shelters sometimes resort to extreme actions.
“When a person is refused in a shelter, it turns into a catastrophe, where you don’t know where to get something to eat; that can lead to theft and in the end, prison.”
According to a report submitted to the task force by GASP, the organization lacks the funds to hire security guards at their shelters for homeless women as well as to train and keep staff.
GASP believes rising living costs are part of the reason for the increase in homelessness in Quebec.
Andre Couillard, coordinator of the Maison d’hebergement depannage de Valleyfield and a member of the Table Itinerance De Vaudreuil-Soulanges organization, argues a tax exemption for people living below the poverty line and more affordable housing projects could help the situation. “It is becoming increasingly clear that minimum wages no longer meet people’s basic needs, there is insufficient affordable housing and the poorest families must spend over 60 per cent of their income to keep a roof over their heads.”
Couillard said more money needs to be invested in preventing homelessness, especially among children in the care of government social services.
“We have the responsibility to mutually take care of our citizens,” said Couillard.
In addition to the public consultation, the committee also toured homeless shelters in Montreal before moving on to Gatineau and Trois-Rivi

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