“Over the past few months, the City of Longueuil has worked actively with its community partners to identify the best scenario for relocating this important resource, established since spring 2020 at Notre-Dame-de-Église. Graces, at the corner of Chemin du Coteau-Rouge and Rue Bourassa. Aware of the precariousness of the situation, my team and I began this work from the first days of our mandate. Even though the issue of homelessness falls to the governments of Quebec and Canada, we consider that the City can play an important role and we fully take our responsibilities in this matter. Thus, today we confirm the relocation of this emergency shelter to a municipally owned building, the Jeanne-Dufresnoy Center, located at 1, boulevard Curé-Poirier Est, approximately one kilometer from the current location. announced Catherine Fournier.
Remember that the move of the Halte had become necessary since the church which houses it, as well as the parking lot adjacent to the building, will be transformed into a community housing complex dedicated to populations at risk of homelessness or at the end of a trajectory of homelessness. A major construction site will thus get underway by mid-August, making the premises incompatible with the location of the refuge, particularly for security reasons. Social cohabitation also played a crucial role in decisions related to relocation.
” We We fully understand the concerns of residents in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâces Church area. They are more than legitimate. The people of the district that I represent want citizens experiencing homelessness to be able to receive adequate support, but the Halte du coin has been added to the already numerous organizations and resources in the neighborhood, which makes it oscillate the point of balance that previously reigned », Specified Carl Lévesque, councilor for the Coteau-Rouge district and associated with the fight against homelessness.
“ Since the creation of the Halte, the City of Longueuil has implemented various initiatives to improve cohesion in the neighborhood, including an increased police presence, with a dedicated RESO resource, as well as a facilitating brigade, in addition to financing various actions such as cleaning the area, adding chemical toilets to the field, etc. I would like to thank the citizens of the Notre-Dame-de-Grâces Church neighborhood for their understanding, their patience and their solidarity over the last four years, they who have cohabited with the local Halte in a context far from ‘be obvious. I would also like to thank all our partners, primarily those in the community, as well as the employees of the City of Longueuil, in particular those of the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Service (SPAL), the Culture Department, the Sports and Community Development (DCSDC) and the Public Works Department. Their daily actions make it possible to support dozens of people in vulnerable situations and keep our city safe,” added the mayor.
The Jeanne-Dufresnoy Center, located at the corner of Boulevard Curé-Poirier and Chemin de Chambly, is an underused municipal building which will be able to accommodate the 35 emergency accommodation places at the Halte du coin. It is located on a predominantly commercial street and far from educational establishments. Shelter activities are among others financed by the CISSS Montérégie-Centre, with the support of several departments of the City of Longueuil.
Ultimately, when the pressure on emergency accommodation needs is under control, this building and its land will be dedicated to the development of a mixed community project with the organization l’Entraide chez nous and its solidarity grocery store project.
Housing as a structuring solution to the crisis
“The relocation of the Halte du coin is intended to be a temporary action. The shelter opened its doors in the wake of the pandemic which led, along with the housing, mental health and overdose crises, to a significant increase in the phenomenon of homelessness in the Longueuil territory, as everywhere else in Quebec and North America. Since we took office, my team and I have worked tirelessly to support projects allowing us to move towards the most structuring solution possible to counter the increase in homelessness in our territory: housing,” added Catherine Fournier.
The number of projects in development or recently completed include:
- Habitation Espoir, 30 units dedicated to people with mental health problems who are in the process of social reintegration, at the corner of Taschereau and Desaulniers boulevards, which welcomed its first tenants in recent months;
- A roof for all, a two-phase project totaling 84 social housing units dedicated to people on their way out of homelessness or at risk of homelessness which will be built in place of the Notre-Dame-de Church -Graces on Chemin du Coteau-Rouge at the corner of rue Bourassa, construction of which will begin by the end of July;
- Addition of ten rooms to the CASA Bernard-Hubert, an accommodation resource dedicated to supporting people on their journey out of homelessness, located on Chemin du Coteau-Rouge;
- And many other social and community housing projects in planning in the area.
In terms of prevention, in addition to the various housing projects in progress, the City intends to collaborate with the CISSS and the Montérégie Public Health Department to support mental health and opioid fight initiatives.
Update on the camps
Following this announcement, the City of Longueuil would like to take stock of the situation of the camps on its territory. The excesses around the corner stop on rue Bourassa observed in recent days are unacceptable and the Longueuil urban police service (SPAL) has reinforced its presence on the ground so that the criminal acts observed are immediately suppressed. . Arrests have already taken place and a coordination unit has been set up with the South Shore Homelessness Table (TIRS).
In the context of the relocation of the Halte, the teams will pay particular attention to the probable movement of the Bourassa Street camp towards the surroundings of the new shelter site. As case law does not allow camps to be dismantled except in cases of imminent danger when resources are at their maximum capacity, a process is currently being carried out by the CISSS to add emergency accommodation places in other resources of the territory. The City and its partners will continue to work together to ensure social cohesion while respecting the rights of all citizens.
