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Quebec announces $28M in homelessness prevention funding

With just a few months to go before the next election, new Premier Christine Fréchette is rolling out a series of announcements. On Thursday, she announced that her government would invest $28 million to combat homelessness in the Outaouais, the Capitale-Nationale, and Montreal.

Some $21 million over three years will go to the rent supplement program, known as Programme de supplément au loyer en prévention (PSLP), to fund a pilot project involving 1,000 housing units.

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“The principle of the PSLP is simple: when a household is at imminent risk of losing its home, its current housing is converted into subsidized housing, which prevents them from having to move,” the government stated in a press release.

“A person can therefore remain in their home while spending only 25 per cent of their income on rent,” the statement added.

A sum of $7 million will be used to better support homeless individuals living with severe mental health issues or substance use disorders through the PRISMD program.

“The program aims to guarantee a bed in a shelter or transitional housing facility for a person experiencing homelessness with mental health or addiction issues who wishes to stabilize their condition before moving into housing, by providing them with appropriate and continuous care for a period of 8 to 12 weeks,” the government explains.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews