by Timothy Edward, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
As part of the City of Montreal’s ongoing efforts to combat the housing crisis, over 600 social and affordable housing units are being inaugurated as part of seven projects in Montreal this week.
Among the projects are LoReLi in Saint-Henri, which features 35 permanent housing units for homeless women, 55 units for single mothers in vulnerable situations and an additional 22 units reserved for lesbian seniors. Next door, another new building features 300 LoReLi condo units.
Isabelle Duclaud of Maison des RebElles, a non-profit organization responsible for the segment of LoReLi reserved for lesbian seniors, intends to move into one of the units. She told Pivot Quebec that she is looking forward to aging among members of her chosen family. “Most of us don’t have (biological) family. Our activists, our groups, our parties, that’s our family,” she says.