About ten tents appeared near a homeless shelter at a church in Longueuil, area residents noted.
• Also read: Homelessness: Opening of the largest emergency shelter in Longueuil
While the number of homeless people in Montérégie has increased by 98% compared to 2018, the homelessness crisis is palpable in the streets of Longueuil.
The diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil receives around 35 homeless people per night at its stopover on the Chemin du Coteau-Rouge.
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Homeless people who cannot get inside find shelter around the church and sleep in poorly insulated tents.
The need for these vulnerable people is great, noted city residents looking for solutions.
One citizen explained to TVA Nouvelles how she founded an organization to help them.
In addition to food, Les Bienveillants des rue de Longueuil are also looking for donations of warm clothing.
“We are four people working in the organization […] We originally came up with the idea of just giving them hot chocolate on December 24th. Eventually it grew,” says Marie-Josée Sansoucy.
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La Longueuilloise and its partners initially teamed up with the culinary team at Les Différents to offer hot meals.
The initiative came about when Marie-Josée wanted to offer sleeping bags and other items for the winter.
Longueuil has three homeless shelters.
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