Bus offers homeless in western Quebec a place to shower and other ‘basic needs’

A social rehabilitation organization in western Quebec is launching a new program on wheels to help people living on the streets. 

Réhabex’s roaming “Réhabus,” unveiled on Friday, will offer people access to a shower, laundry room, clothes, snack area and a private area to speak with a social worker.

The bus will crisscross the streets of Gatineau, Pontiac, Petite-Nation and Maniwaki starting on Monday. 

Patrick Pilon, Réhabex’s general manager, said the project is a response to the fact that “[some] people to this day still do not have access to … basic needs for human dignity.”

The region has never had a service quite like this, he added. 

The inside of a converted bus.
Several services will be offered inside the bus such as laundry, showers, space to eat, and a private room to speak with a social worker. (Radio-Canada/Emmanuelle Poisson)

The Collectif régional de lutte à l’itinérance en Outaouais (CRIO), a group that advocates for homeless people in the region, said it welcomed the new service given the number of homeless has “exploded so much in the region in recent years.”

“We’re still in a housing crisis. People are still ending up on the streets,” said CRIO coordinator Alexandre Gallant, adding that “it will take mobile services like this to reach people.”

The bus program will cost $275,000 per year. Pilon said it took the help of private companies and entrepreneurs in the region to get the project up and running. 

Man standing outside a building.
Alexandre Gallant, coordinator for the Collectif régional de lutte à l’itinérance en Outaouais, says it takes services like Réhabus to reach the homeless. (Radio-Canada/Emmanuelle Poisson)

Hull-Wright Coun. Steve Moran said efforts like Réhabus fill a gap that should be met by the provincial and federal governments.

“They are not doing so,” Moran told Radio-Canada’s Les Matins d’ici. “Fortunately, the private sector has decided to get involved.”

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