The residents of the Lairet neighborhood are worried: a person has settled in one of the vacant lots of the city of Quebec on the 41 in recent dayse Road as winter is fast approaching.
“It’s cold at night at this time of year and this woman needs help. We can’t let her sleep like that, on a small mattress in the wind, otherwise something bad will happen to her,” argues Jacinthe, a retired secretary who lives nearby.
A woman has taken up residence on one of the City of Quebec’s vacant lots on 41st Street. Residents who met on November 14, 2023 are worried about the fate as winter approaches. Vincent Desbiens
The makeshift shelter consists of a few chairs, a large blue screen tied to the only trees on the site of the former Hydro-Québec transmission lines, and a small makeshift bed made from pieces of quilted carpet.
When we visited the journal, fresh food could be found there, indicating that someone actually lived there. Despite several attempts, it was not possible to speak to the woman in the precarious situation.
A woman has settled on one of the vacant lots on 41st Street, owned by the City of Quebec. As the Journal passed by, there was fresh food on a makeshift plate. Photo Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens Vincent Desbiens
friendliness
A local resident filmed the woman because he was “concerned for her safety.” The footage shows her rummaging through a bag while sitting on a chair in the middle of the makeshift camp on a rainy day.
Other citizens went to the location where the apparently homeless person had spent several nights over the past week to drop off food.
Officers from the Quebec City Police Department’s Mental Health Unit left a written note with the resident at the premises. The document specifies that the camp must be dismantled in accordance with city regulations.
Photo Le Journal de Québec Jean-François Racine
“We will be back […] We will be in touch in the next few days to get to know you and offer you the help you need […] to help you find [un] Living or [pour vos] “Other needs” can be read there.
More and more widespread
Maizerets-Lairet district councilor and leader of Quebec City’s official opposition, Claude Villeneuve, is concerned that homelessness is “spreading further and further beyond the city center.”
“There is an increasing concentration in central neighborhoods and people experiencing homelessness are moving to the outskirts for more peace and quiet. […] We are seeing more and more of this, including in Beauport, Maizerets and Lairet.”
In recent years, Mr. Villeneuve himself has noticed that an “encampment” has emerged in the wooded area that separates the two neighborhoods of his district, near Henri Bourassa Boulevard.
“We must prevent it from becoming a habit to see something like this.” Not because they represent a threat to citizens, but because these people also have the right to dignity,” he concludes.