In the heart of lower town Quebec, a brand new library invites the vulnerable population of the neighborhood to come and snuggle within its walls. “I come here almost every day,” says Micheline, her eyes tired from a night at the shelter. At Gabrielle-Roy, she comes to seek a little warmth. Human warmth.
Outside, the temperature feels like -23 degrees Celsius — a whipping cold that makes the usually busy sidewalks of Saint-Joseph Street deserted. The only ones to set foot outside hurry along, freezing under their winter armor, their hats, their scarves, their gloves, their coats.
Others trudge slowly to the doors of the Gabrielle-Roy library with bags containing all of their luggage: grocery bags full of worn clothes, sleeping bags faded from the nights on the sidewalk, bags on heavy backs of the journey which led them to the street.
“I can spend the day here without anyone bothering me,” Micheline explains to Duty. “That’s rare for people like me. »
Behind the threshold of the library, these unfortunate men and women find refuge not only from a freezing Monday in January, but also from the judgment that stares them down outside. “It has always been in the philosophy of the Gabrielle-Roy Library, this sensitivity to inclusion,” explains its director, Éric Therrien. “We have always been keen to welcome all audiences without discrimination and to ensure that everyone is treated equally. »
It is not yet midday when a few dozen homeless people already populate the entrance hall, greeting each other and warming themselves there. Some doze off at a table, several take advantage of the free Internet, others sit down to simply pass the time.
Saint-Roch, “it’s ground zero »
Opened to the public last July after a $43 million makeover, the Gabrielle-Roy library has returned to a Saint-Roch district damaged by the pandemic and the inflationary economy that followed it.
Mental distress, drug addiction and homelessness are getting worse in the sector, notes Mr. Therrien. “I have been working at Gabrielle-Roy for around twenty years, and what we are currently experiencing, we have always experienced, but it is true that it has been more important in recent years. I have the impression that this is not specific to the Saint-Roch district: we observe this in all city centers. »
-” It is ground zero here,” illustrates a police officer during his daily rounds in Saint-Roch. “The library has become a bit of a second Lauberivière,” he adds, in reference to the largest reception center for the homeless in Quebec.
Gabrielle-Roy has not closed her arms to poverty in the face of increasing needs, quite the contrary. Since its opening, there has been something new for the poorer population of the lower town: workers who welcome and support the vulnerable people who frequent it. This measure, also in force in certain libraries in Montreal and Drummondville, is a first in the capital. “It aims to promote harmonious cohabitation and to support the most deprived in obtaining the assistance that can be provided to them,” emphasizes Éric Therrien.
“We don’t want to put the most vulnerable out and move on,” says the library director. “On the contrary, we want to keep them, to show them the advantages of the library, one of the last ramparts of a vision which advocates equality of opportunity and the possibility offered to everyone of free access to culture and knowledge. »
Reach out
On Monday, Kathie, the new social worker hired barely a week ago, flitted from one user to another. Here, it was necessary to manage the panic caused by a lost phone, there, to defuse an incipient spat. Above all, we had to chat and respect these people to whom hands are rarely extended.
Having only been on the job for a few days, Kathie already knows several of them by first name. A second player will soon come to support him thanks to the granting of an additional budget by the City.
“One speaker was good, but I would say that two is even better,” remarks Éric Therrien. “It will allow us to better support people. Sometimes, it can be people who are just a little disorganized and need a little helping hand. They are often looking for housing, they are in difficulty, they are not necessarily yet homeless, but there is a certain distress. Quite regularly, on the other hand, it is people under the influence of alcohol and drugs who must be supervised. »
In the opinion of the library management, cohabitation is going rather well. As proof, says Mr. Therrien: some 300,000 users have passed through the doors of Gabrielle-Roy since July — a record since its opening in 1983.
Among these thousands of regulars, there is Micheline with tired eyes. Dozing at her table, she quickly wakes up from her nap to put on boots and coat and go out to smoke a cigarette. And the cold? “It’s a lot less worse going outside when I know there’s somewhere warm waiting for me. »
