Chelsey St. Pierre – The Suburban LJI Reporter
An open letter calling for solutions concerning the gaps in emergency housing resources was sent by Comité d’action des locataires de l’Ouest-de-l’Île, Table de Quartier Sud de l’Ouest-de-l’Île (TQSOI) and Table de Quartier Nord de l’Ouest-de-l’Île (TQNOI) to eight West Island municipalities as well as the West Island CIUSSS, the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) and Société d’habitation du Québec.
This year, West Island residents were displaced and left temporarily homeless following residential fires in Dorval and Dollard-des-Ormeaux (DDO). On September 23, 2023, a blaze uprooted residents living in a 26-unit apartment building in Dorval. Immediately, the Red Cross stepped in to provide temporary housing, however the support available is limited and lasted for just a few days.
Residents, finding themselves without a home, searched for housing solutions and were accompanied by the referral service of the OMHM. However, residents from demerged cities do not have full access to services offered by the OMHM. According to the letter, a lack of communication and understanding regarding the protocol for the provision of aid to disaster victims following an emergency intervention by the Montreal Fire Department in the territory of the agglomeration of Montreal leaves many victims feeling confused and helpless.
The letter also addresses the issue of residents living in West Island homes who find themselves homeless after a repossession, a “reno-viction” or are evacuated due to a sanitation issues. Residents of the City of Montreal are eligible for temporary housing, reimbursement of moving and storage costs, and housing search assistance through the referral service. However, residents of demerged cities are not eligible for the same benefits, and there are no equivalent services in these cities.
Only 20% of housing units in the West Island are rentals. The West Island is home to 4% of the island’s social housing and it is difficult for tenants to find adequate and affordable housing once they are displaced. “We call upon the demerged cities of the West Island and the CIUSSS of the West Island to take advantage of available resources and partnerships in order to address these gaps in emergency housing resources,” the letter read.
The letter calls on its recipients to apply for a subsidy under Stream 1 of the Programme d’hébergement temporaire et d’aide à la recherche de logement (PHTARL) of the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) which would unlock significant provincial funds so that cities can provide temporary housing and a moving and storage service to residents in need. Under Stream 2 of this program, it is also possible for cities to contact the OMHM to begin discussions on possible service links with the referral service, in order to allow low-income residents of demerged cities to have full access to the housing search assistance services all year round.
“We look forward to an ongoing dialogue to address this pressing matter that affects the well-being and safety of our communities,” West Island Tenant Action Committee, Tenant Support Coordinator Lily Martin told The Suburban.
“We approached the campaign first with public support to go to the cities with a list of constituents. Our intention was to get as much support and [as many] signatures [as possible] to be able to sit at the table with city representatives to present our plan in order to move quickly with our objectives.” n