Benoit Labre House | Crack, penknife and syringes around the neighboring school

“A person smokes crack in front of the entrance to the daycare. » “A penknife was found in the schoolyard near the pear balloons. » “A bag full of syringes was found in the school park. »

All this, in the month of November alone, at the Victor-Rousselot primary school, neighboring the Maison Benoit Labre, a center in the Saint-Henri district open day and night which welcomes people experiencing homelessness and which also offers a supervised drug consumption service.

It was following a request for access to information from the Montreal school service center (CSSDM) that The Press was able to consult the register of events reported by the staff of the Victor-Rousselot school from June 7 to November 20. During this period, the register recorded 54 separate events.

This information, also transmitted to the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) and Public Health, demonstrates that cohabitation remains difficult.

“An educator sees a person who has his pants down to his knees and is afraid that he will also lower his underwear,” indicates the report for October 24.

On June 7, “a man urinated in the bushes overlooking the school grounds before the students arrived.”

On June 10, human feces were found at the student entrance. The janitor picked them up before the little ones arrived.

On June 11, “three students and the crossing guard reported to us that a homeless person shouldered a 6-year-old student^e year and he subsequently followed them to school.

At 12:15 p.m. on September 16, “a man in crisis wants to climb over the fence to enter the park [école] ».

The management of Maison Benoit Labre did not call us back.

Marie-Eve Bourrelle is worried about the fact that her son, on the way to school, “sees things that he should not see, at his age”.

A center like Maison Benoit Labre has no place, in his opinion, “next to a school”.

Étienne Morneau, whose children also attend the Victor-Rousselot school and who lives two blocks away, does not believe there are problems with cohabitation.

“There are always street workers, in the morning and evening, after classes” and in the surrounding area, “it has never been so clean”. Maison Benoit Labre manages the place well, according to Étienne Morneau.

“We have to help these people [les personnes en situation d’itinérance]. »

Jean-Pierre Houle also believes that the people welcomed by Maison Benoit Labre clearly need help, “but the center is just not in the right place”.

He says that this summer, a homeless man wanted to stab his friend. “We filed a complaint with the police. »

A mother put on notice

Chantale Gagnon, whose children attend the Victor-Rousselot school and who is a member of the Victor-Rousselot Coalition, is not upset.

She indicates that the school, which writes to parents for the slightest fire alarm triggered, keeps to itself the security issues posed by the proximity of Maison Benoit Labre.

Furthermore, she said, the CSSDM “wanted to silence me by sending me a formal notice” from a law firm.

“On more than one occasion,” we can read in the document, “the CSSDM has clearly asked you to stop making representations or taking actions in opposition to the Maison Benoit Labre project by identifying yourself as “members of the OPP [organisme de participation des parents en place dans toutes les écoles] or members of the governing board of the Victor-Rousselot school.

The formal notice requires Chantale Gagnon to immediately stop using the OPP email address “for partisan purposes in relation to the Maison Benoit Labre project”.

Chantale Gagnon says she is very aware “that there is a need for accommodation” for homeless people. According to her, it is the “day center” mission, right next to a primary school, which poses a problem.

Data from the City of Montreal Police Department reported in October showed an 800% increase in mischief near Maison Benoit Labre between the period before its opening (January to April) and after (April to July).

Mayor Valérie Plante then indicated that the City of Montreal was working with the Quebec government to find another site for Maison Benoit Labre.

On August 20, Lionel Carmant, minister responsible for Social Services, already said that he was working to relocate the day services offered by the organization.

The services are still offered, denounces Chantale Gagnon, who believes that all this was only a political response to calm things down.

And everything continues as usual “and small reports are made” and sent to high places, and to be informed, “you have to make requests for access to information”.

Precious, but complicated centers for a neighborhood

The D^r François Noël, a psychiatrist specializing in addiction, notes that reporting misdeeds or threats to the police is the right thing to do.

“Often, people don’t dare to denounce them, they feel pity. But in reality, the day [les personnes qui ont un problème de toxicomanie] are at risk of being charged, where they have the choice between going to prison or taking action on their consumption, it can become something that motivates them. »

The D^r Noël adds that “we cannot deny that there are harms associated with consumption”, particularly with regard to stimulants (crack or cocaine, for example).

“They can lead to violence, psychosis, very disorganized behavior which can be very frightening, even dangerous. »

That said, the D^r Noel notes that from a clinical perspective, places that offer supervised consumption are very valuable.

These centers do not give out drugs, he specifies, but often, on site, they are able to test them and ensure that they do not contain fentanyl, for example.

Furthermore, this type of center is very useful in reaching people struggling with addictions and can represent a gateway to health care for them.

But for this, a lot of personnel are needed to ensure, among other things, that order is maintained around these centers.

With the collaboration of William Leclerc and Isabelle Ducas, The Press