Quebec Community Organizations for Street Work

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The Montreal Delegation of Quebec Community Organizations for Street Work (ROCQTR) supported by the Montreal Network for Assistance to Single and Homeless People (RAPSIM) has issued an open letter calling on the City of Montreal to respond to the social and housing crisis with concrete plans of action.

The rise in homelessness has far exceeded the threshold of front-line organizations in the Greater Montreal Area (GMA). “Outreach street workers remain determined and creative in the face of increasing demands and the growing complexity of realities and needs, all while facing increasingly difficult referrals to saturated services,” the letter reads.

One of the primary reasons that organizations become trapped in this cycle that continues to grow each year is because there is no long-term plan put in place. With the return of every cold season, the Agglomeration reacts with “emergency” measures which dissipate as the weather warms up. Users of the organization establishments, where street workers have the opportunity to work with them towards long-term goals, lose touch as they return to the street each spring. Workers are faced with a race against time, trying to sort out as many cases as possible towards stability, but the reality is that the majority of cases cannot be solved in just a few months’ time. “As outreach workers, we build trusting relationships with marginalized individuals. We accompany them in their daily lives within their living environments, and at their own pace,” the letter read.

While organizations plead with the City of Montreal, the Agglomeration points the finger at the provincial government, stating that it is the Minister of Health and Social Services that must allocate a budget. The Minister, Lionel Carmant’s office, responds that it requires a plan from the city that is responsible for communications with the organizations serving the homeless community to request a budget for their needs. City Councillor and Official Opposition for Homelessness in Montreal Benoît Langevin stated to The Suburban that year after year that the Plante administration has yet to listen to the organizations and request budgets for a long-term plan, instead it behaves “reactively” each year with temporary measures.

“We are saddened to see that the homelessness crisis has become more of an electoral issue than a human rights issue. Homelessness is being instrumentalized as a problem to exploit rather than solve. Announcements are being made while actions remain on hold,” the collective organizations stated in the open letter. “We need a comprehensive action plan, co-created with elected officials and communities. Outreach workers are not firefighters, and collectively, we can no longer put out fires in crisis after crisis. It is no longer enough to talk about the symptoms (which include) encampments, overdoses, tensions. We must address the root causes,” the letter reads.

The lack of long-term planning by elected officials, meaning larger budgets for long-term commitments, is at the centre of the “root causes” as a significant portion of the emergency response work performed by street workers could be resolved with permanent infrastructure offering follow up and follow-through services to its clientele. “Until real structural solutions are implemented, we will continue to chase temporary fixes with no lasting impact,” the organizations stated.

Even with the temporary actions as the only available structures, community organizations are widely funded by private donations. “We call on the City of Montreal to take responsibility for the current social crisis.”

“Year after year, we repeat the same requests, and they respond with the same mantra. Projet Montréal is passing the buck to Quebec every chance it gets. These organizations need long-term structural support and a municipal plan to reduce homelessness.” Langevin stated to The Suburban in response to the letter. n