Here in Québec, we have "social help" where the government gives you money if you cannot work, etc.
A lot of people I know abuse of this. Pay the rent with the social help, then get money "under the table". A lot of people abuse of it, but I still think it's worth it. I work hard, but I know that if all else fail, I won't be stuck in the street.
It's also not a perfect solution. There are still homeless people (who are often too ill to be able to ask for the social help, or don't have a permanent address to sent it to). You can't live very well in Montreal with it alone, but you can manage to get somewhere to live, especially if you have "sidejob". Otherwise, there are HLM (French for "housing at moderated rents") where the rent is actually based on your income. You can live for $350 - $900 / month in a three room apartment in those. Especially if you live around the island on Montreal and not on it.
People who use this service are frowned upon. They call them "BS" (Guess you would call them SH in english, for "Social help"). The stereotype is that they all abuse the system, take your hard earned money and live in a big appartment with the latest computer, drink all day (no work!) and do drugs. People fail to see that computers are not as expensive as they were before.
I actually grew up in that world. The abusers were a minority. A large, noisy minority, but a minority nonetheless.
A lot of people I know abuse of this. Pay the rent with the social help, then get money "under the table". A lot of people abuse of it, but I still think it's worth it. I work hard, but I know that if all else fail, I won't be stuck in the street.
It's also not a perfect solution. There are still homeless people (who are often too ill to be able to ask for the social help, or don't have a permanent address to sent it to). You can't live very well in Montreal with it alone, but you can manage to get somewhere to live, especially if you have "sidejob". Otherwise, there are HLM (French for "housing at moderated rents") where the rent is actually based on your income. You can live for $350 - $900 / month in a three room apartment in those. Especially if you live around the island on Montreal and not on it.
People who use this service are frowned upon. They call them "BS" (Guess you would call them SH in english, for "Social help"). The stereotype is that they all abuse the system, take your hard earned money and live in a big appartment with the latest computer, drink all day (no work!) and do drugs. People fail to see that computers are not as expensive as they were before.
I actually grew up in that world. The abusers were a minority. A large, noisy minority, but a minority nonetheless.