As of 1is July, while many Montrealers are moving, no fewer than 147 households are actively supported by the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) to find housing. In addition to this number, 38 people are already being housed in emergency accommodation by the OMHM.
Published at 12:00 p.m.
Updated at 4:08 p.m.
Ce 1is July was no exception. While some people were unpacking boxes, several hundred households found themselves in need once again.
According to the most recent data from the Société d’Habitation du Québec (SHQ), as of Monday morning there were 1,296 tenant households in Quebec who are actively supported by a housing search assistance service.
Across the province, 384 households are currently without housing and are in a temporary accommodation situation, whether with relatives, camping or otherwise, and 125 households are being accommodated by the SHQ in a hotel.
“Mom I don’t want to be homeless”
Among those receiving emergency shelter from the OMHM is Jenny Akerley. This 45-year-old single mother, who does not have a good credit rating and is currently receiving welfare benefits, was unable to find a roof over her head for the 1is July.
She is now housed by the OMHM in student accommodation with her seven-year-old son.
The little family left New Brunswick on December 22 to return to live in Montreal. But since that day, although they have approached about forty landlords, none of them have agreed to rent them a place to live.
It’s always the same, they want someone who’s alone and quiet. As soon as you say you have a child, they don’t want it, and when you’re on welfare, they ask you what your job is, and if you have bad credit, it doesn’t help you either.
Jenny Akerley, single mother
She had been temporarily staying with a friend since January, but tensions ended the cohabitation.
This single mother also has to deal with the specific needs of her son, who is autistic. Their arrival the day before in their temporary accommodation was very trying for her.
“He was really stressed because he saw me stressed,” Jenny explains. “I found it difficult because I had to manage myself and manage a child who was having tantrums.”
Jenny says she feels reassured and grateful to be given emergency accommodation, but she remembers with difficulty the first time she walked through the doors of the OMHM to ask for help.
“My first appointment on July 21 made me feel like a victim, like it was my fault,” she said. “They were asking me why I came back to Quebec and why I’m not going back to New Brunswick.”
They really made me feel like I wasn’t a good mother, like it was my fault that my child was homeless.
Jenny Akerley, single mother
She says it was difficult to hide her tears from her son on the way home.
“I cried in front of everyone, it really broke me,” she said. “My son just cried on the subway and said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to be homeless.'”
After proving the search for accommodation that she had made, she was eventually offered temporary accommodation.
“When I arrived home I sent them all the paperwork and they called me the following Monday for an appointment on Wednesday,” says Jenny Akerley. “I hope there is someone who will open the door and give us a chance.”
A housing crisis that is present everywhere and all year round in Quebec
The spokesperson for the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), Véronique Laflamme, notes a crisis that is rooted in Quebec and that affects both large cities and smaller municipalities.
In several regions of Quebec where housing was previously considered affordable, rents have increased very rapidly. The shortage of rental housing has never been so widespread across Quebec, and in all municipalities the vacancy rate is below the market equilibrium threshold of 3%.
Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for FRAPRU
She takes the example of Trois-Rivières, where 39 households had to be housed urgently on 1is July.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Across the province, 384 households are currently homeless and in temporary accommodation.
“The picture is very bleak for tenants in Quebec and there are cities like Montreal where they are the majority in the population,” adds Véronique Laflamme. “This crisis has an effect on the social fabric of communities and neighbourhoods that were previously working-class.”
She denounces the situation of many residents of usually more popular areas who are being “driven out of their neighborhood.”
Increasing requests for help
Data from the Société d’Habitation du Québec shows that the number of requests it received from citizens in need increased from 5,200 in 2023 to 9,200 this year. To date, 71% of them have reportedly been processed by SHQ services.
“We recognize that there are needs, but the assistance is better organized to reach them,” explains the director of communications and external relations at the SHQ, Sébastien Olivier. “The work upstream is bearing fruit.”
For the spokesperson for Québec solidaire, in matters of housing and accommodation, Andrés Fontecilla, these figures are only “the tip of the iceberg”.
“I am convinced that the figures reported […] are below reality, he said. There are many people who have not contacted the emergency service because they have gone to stay with friends or family.”
A “stressful” situation
The office of the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, reacted to the portrait painted on 1is July and assures that “no effort is spared” to provide assistance to citizens who request it.
“We understand that the situation is difficult and stressful for vulnerable households who are having difficulty finding housing,” said Minister Duranceau’s press secretary, Justine Vézina. “Everyone has been mobilized for several months to ensure that this period goes as smoothly as possible.”
For its part, the office of Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says it is ready to support anyone in need and invites them to dial 311.
“The moving period is stressful for many Montrealers, who are increasingly struggling to find housing options that meet their needs and budget,” says the mayor’s office. “We are here for you.”
