A new shipping container village in Gatineau, Que., aimed at reducing homelessness welcomed its first seven residents days before Christmas.
The shipping container community, dubbed Village Transitiôn, is located on a parking lot adjacent to the former Robert-Guertin Centre. It will eventually provide housing for 100 people who are currently homeless.
Development for the community was spearheaded by Gatineau land developer Devcore, which announced the project in May. The non-profit group Transitiôn Québec is managing the project.
Gaétan Bondu, a homeless man who had been living in a tent for more than six months, moved into the village Monday. He will be living in the new unit with his 12-year-old dog.
“Without it, I would have been in a canvas tent. It’s more demoralizing than anything else. Now, in an apartment, at least it gives you a bit of autonomy,” Bondu said in French.
“It’s definitely a transition, it’s to help us move on.”
Village Transitiôn plans to house up to 100 people who are experiencing homelessness. (Radio-Canada / Maxim Allain)
Nancy Martineau, executive director of Transitiôn Quebec and former director of humanitarian projects for Devcore, called the project the first of its kind in the province.
“The one who is going to move here are really happy. They enjoy to have a nice place because they’re going to be in security. It’s going to be warm,” said Martineau.
She said the shipping container community offers people experiencing homelessness more flexibility, such as being able to keep pets.
Containers replace heated tents
Data from Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services shows that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Gatineau and the Outaouais region increased from 145 in 2018 to 534 in 2022.
In December 2023, Devcore installed 48 heated tents near the Robert-Guertin Centre and provided other services including on-site security and heated toilets.
“We decided that enough is enough and we want homeless people to be able to have a decent Christmas,” said Devcore managing partner Nicholas Bouquet.
However, those services ceased in May, and the company announced plans to build the shipping container community as a replacement.
The City of Gatineau has loaned the site to Transitiôn Québec for 10 years and has provided $1.5 million in funding, with further funding from the provincial government.
These are some of the 48 tents set up by Devcore in front of Robert-Guertin Centre in December 2023. (CBC/Radio-Canada)
So far, 82 people have completed the application process, which includes meeting eligibility criteria, submitting documents and agreeing to a code of conduct. For the first residents, Transitiôn Québec chose people living in tents on the site who do not have access to other services.
Residents living in Village Transitiôn will be offered private accommodation made from 85 shipping containers, converted into single room and studio dwellings, with amenities including a place to cook and access to the internet. The site also contains gardens, communal areas, a dog park and a social services centre.
Rents can range from 25 per cent to 35 per cent of an individual’s income.
Transitiôn Québec will be welcoming additional people to the village in waves throughout the first half of January. It expects 31 people to have moved in by Jan. 15, according to a news release.
The organization plans to fully complete the village, including landscaping and communal areas, by April 2025.