The Montreal ombudsman, in a report (New window) published on Wednesday, reports on the humanitarian crisis affecting homeless Aboriginals in the Milton-Parc sector and calls on the City of Montreal to act.
Now is the time for quick and concerted actionstates, at the opening of the report, the Montreal ombudsman, Nadine Mailloux.
The report named Don’t look away is the result of a survey that highlights the lack of planning and collaboration between the various stakeholders working with homeless Aboriginals in the city.
Homelessness, it must be said, was a real and well -known problem, but we soon realized that the situation brought to our attention was critical.written by Ms. Mailloux.
Ang stakeholders operate within state or community structures that are sometimes difficult to reconcile, resulting in a vacuum of accountability (everyone passes money). It is absolutely necessary to learn to coordinate bettermakes a report.
Not enough seasonal measures
The ombudsman also directs the operation of the City of Montreal in establishing the services offered during the winter and last minute setup of them.
Tents and emergency winter shelters are expensive palliatives that won’t solve the problem, it says. […] Addressing current housing needs throughout the year represents a more effective approach for tackling homelessness and will give life to actions and goals repeated many times by the City of Montreal.
Growing mobile population and dwindling resources
The Montreal ombudsman observes that the homeless Aboriginal population is growing, but available resources are dwindling.
This decrease can be explained by health restrictions leading, among other things, to the lack of beds.
however, the living conditions in Milton-Parc described in this report appear to be not just the product of the pandemic, although it may have exacerbated themsaid Nadine Mailloux.
Five recommendations and investigations by the Québec Ombudsman
Faced with these findings, Nadine Mailloux and her team developed 5 recommendations aimed at the City of Montreal.
The Montreal ombudsman also forwarded his concerns to the Québec Ombudsman, who also agreed to conduct an investigation into the Aboriginal homelessness situation.
It’s important to move from words to deeds, Nadine Mailloux wrote at the end of the report. It is important not to manage this situation by simple checkboxes on a plan.
We must act thoughtfully and ensure that the planned measures yield concrete results, that entities in all directions are accountable for the responsibilities entrusted to them and that this responsibility is not measured in by isolated activities, but rather by decisive impact on the ground.he added.
A citizen complaint at the source of the investigation
The investigation was initiated by a complaint from citizens living near Park Avenue and Milton Street.
These citizens denounce the devastation, the discontent as well as the dangerousness of this neighborhood where a community of homeless Aboriginal and Inuit people coexist. Residents complain about the lack of adequate management of these issues by the competent authoritieswe learned in the report.
The complaint also mentioned the place where the organization is located The Open Door is not appropriate and should be moved.
Formerly located near Cabot Square, the organization had to move to Plateau-Mont-Royal in 2018 when it purchased the area it occupied for the purpose of making condos. By that time, residents in the area had already expressed some concerns.
Source: Radio-Canada
