The Old Brewery Mission, which has housed and supported homeless people in Montreal for more than 130 years, strongly denounces the use of high volume music to keep them away from the stairs of the Complexe Desjardins.
• Also read: The song “Baby Shark” at full volume to scare away the homeless at Complexe Desjardins
For almost a year, the Complexe Desjardins has been loudly broadcasting popular children’s music in its stairwells, including the song Baby Shark.
This measure aims to keep away people experiencing homelessness who seek refuge in these spaces.
Desjardins Movement spokesperson Jean-Benoît Turcotti confirmed that this sound solution would have succeeded in “improving the situation”.
“It’s a little bit inhumane,” James Hughes, president and CEO of the organization, declared Thursday on QUB radio at 99.5 FM Montreal.
“These are people who are trying to [protéger]. It’s cold now, they probably don’t have another [endroit où aller].»
Other solutions exist
It also highlights the precarious situation of people seeking refuge on the stairs of Complexe Desjardins. “[Ce sont] people who are often sick, who are going through very difficult times and who have almost no options.”
Social workers could better intervene with people who seek refuge on these stairs.
“There are better methods,” he said. “If they’re not making noise, if they’re not doing anything bad, why not just leave them there?”
Housing crisis
For the president of the Old Brewery Mission, the solution to this problem lies in the creation of housing.
“We have a housing crisis which puts us in a problem [extrême] of cohabitation [et] of homelessness in general.”
He insists on the importance of building more adapted residential projects: “Neighborhoods want residential projects, people in situations [d’itinérance] want it, and organizations like Old Brewery [le veulent] Also.”
*This text, generated with the help of artificial intelligence, was reviewed and validated by our team based on an interview carried out at QUB.
