Quebec to increase funding for urban First Nations communities – Montreal Gazette

October 17, 2016

Quebec’s homeless aboriginal population is approaching crisis levels, indigenous experts say.

About half of the province’s 100,000 indigenous people now live in urban centres and many are falling between the cracks. In Montreal, a 2015 survey found that while aboriginal people account for 1.6 per cent of the city’s population, they make up over 10 per cent of its 3,000 homeless residents.

Nearly one-third of those who stay in emergency shelters are indigenous, suggests a 2013 city of Montreal study.

“You have a situation where you have a young, growing indigenous population with far too many children in foster care. And then one day they turn 18 and they’re basically just cut loose, left to fend for themselves,” said Nakuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal. “It doesn’t take long before they end up on the street.”

Read More: http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-to-increase-funding-for-urban-first-nations-communities