Page 10 - Demo

TraNsITional HouSIng
sUpporTivE lIviNg EnviRonMEnT frOM 3 montHs To 3 yEaRs
PAQ operates 16 studio apartments for Indigenous women and men: 9 for men and 6 for women, and one accessible unit. The Transition Housing program offers a
supportive living environment for 3 months to
3 years for individuals seeking stability and an opportunity to achieve a longer-term goal of permanent housing. Transition Housing staff use an intervention style that is culturally adapted to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples. They accompany residents to prevent a return to homelessness and support community members to build stability on a long-term basis.
The average stay in Transition is 1.3 years, and the average age of residents is 39 years. The gender breakdown is currently 36% female and 63% male.
oUR sTORIES
PUTULIK QUMAK
My name is Putulik and I am Inuk. I come from Cape Dorset, Nunavut and
I have five siblings, but we all did not grow up together. My father died
when I was young, and my mother moved to Montreal to be closer to
family. My grandfather raised me and taught me the traditional ways to
hunt, camp, carve soapstone and carve meat. I went to high school but
did not finish, and then I was in Manitoba for two years and lived with a
family who were close family friends. I did vocational studies, but I did not
finish. I moved to Montreal twenty-four years ago to reunite with my
mother. I struggled with sobriety and was homeless for a while. To get
and stay sober, I rely on the teachings of my ancestors, reach out to my
elders, and listen to myself. The traditional ways help me. When I arrived
in Montreal, I went to the Southern Inuit Organization, and they hired me
as a butcher sometimes. I visited the Friendship Centre and Resilience and
heard about PAQ. I started staying at the shelter at PAQ because alcohol is not allowed, and it is peaceful, which
is important to me. I have a lot of aunts and nieces here in Montreal I am close to, and I keep in touch with family
far away by calling on the phone, posting on Facebook, and sharing my pictures. The last time I went back to Cape Dorset was for my mother’s burial in 2009, and it was very hard. In January 2022, I was accepted into Transition housing at PAQ after a long wait. I live on the best floor in Transition, the top floor, and my neighbors are quiet. I am very, very happy here. People ask me if I want to go home, but Montreal is home now to me. I have family and friends here, and things like food are not as expensive. It is hard to get work because I speak Inuktitut and English and not French, but this summer, I hope to work with the Southern Inuit Organization, maybe as a butcher or in maintenance.
TRANSITION 10