The arson of a disused building near the Sainte-Paule church and a homeless camp in Saint-Jérôme left no one indifferent in this Laurentian town.
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The camp, which has been home to dozens of homeless people since October 1, is located in Henri-Daoust Park, very close to the Sainte-Paule church, acquired by the City in 2020 and which now houses a resource for people in homelessness situation. Nothing indicates, for the moment, a link between the fire and the presence of the camp.
Concerning this camp, the police department of the City of Saint-Jérôme has distributed regarding thirty statements of offense over the past few days, totaling an amount of several thousand dollars.
Homeless organizations in the region have been struggling for some time; a respite, “Le Book Humanitaire”, had to close its doors recently.
Since the closure of the Halte-répit, regarding twenty tents have appeared in a park frequented by many families and residents of the sector.
The problem of homelessness is getting worse, and disgruntled citizens are letting the mayor know regarding it during city council meetings.
“Come sit down, have a coffee, hear them scream on the edge of the fence and hear them cry. I’ll tell you a deal, it’s ‘rock and roll’,” said a citizen of Saint-Jérôme on September 20.
Other residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation to our reporter.
“They’re a little quieter, but I’ll say, they travel a lot at night. We can no longer come to the park with small children. There are syringes, junk on the ground. We no longer have a life, ”reacted a lady.
“My children are scared! They are afraid! They can’t come anymore [ici]“, underlines a citizen.
A man met by TVA Nouvelles, who has taken up residence in the park, takes a dim view of the incident. He believes that the police might increase their patrols over the next few days.
“I think, maybe, it will harden the tone, unfortunately. With the next few days, let’s hope they [les policiers] do not intervene. (…) It would not be the time”, he said.
The City of Saint-Jérôme did not wish to comment on the file.
