At 20, Benjamin Kiakou fears he will no longer be able to pay his rent by the end of May if he does not find solutions. A situation that imposes difficult choices on him.
Students at Cégep André Laurendeau benefit from the loan and scholarship program to follow a technique in operations and supply chain management. This amount allows him to meet his needs and pay for his modest room, converted into a studio, at a cost of $730 per month in the Mile-End district.
Photo Agence QMI, DÉSIRÉ KAFUNDA
“Without the scholarship, it would have been complicated. I had lost my job because I was going to school. I think I would have gone into rent arrears and hoped my landlord would understand. Otherwise, I would certainly have had to leave the apartment,” explained the young man, who decided to share his story to bear witness to the effects of the housing crisis.
To be eligible for this program, you must be in full-time studies. But for administrative reasons, Benjamin was only entitled to part of the amounts allocated by the program and will soon find himself without resources.
With these less amounts, Benjamin fears that he will no longer be able to pay his rent and, thus, lose his housing.
“If nothing works, I think I’ll apply for welfare. If social assistance does not respond to me in time, I will have no choice but to leave the house and live with a friend in the meantime,” he sighed.
He plans to work two jobs to avoid ending up on the street and “to be able to have a little more income”, otherwise he will have to turn to last resort solutions.
Distance compromises academic success
Benjamin is doing pretty well academically, but after failing exams, he decided to move closer to his school.
“Here, I am twice as close to my school. It allows me to be there more on time, more efficiently. It took me almost two hours sometimes with the metro breakdowns,” he added.
Benjamin says he had to get up between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. to get ready to go to CEGEP for 8 a.m.
This is why he needs his accommodation to continue his studies peacefully.
“There, I come home a little earlier, I really have time to study,” he continued.
The young athlete, who says he confides in friends to alleviate the stress of his situation, is not very optimistic about the coming years.
“Frankly, I think it’s going to get worse and worse,” he confided. [Les loyers] never decrease to begin with. I think today it’s $700 for a studio. Tomorrow it will be $900. It’s not going to stop.”
