Saint Columba House
Organization profile published 1982

http://www.saintcolumbahouse.org/
Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Organization
Cx Number:  CX2686

Abstract: 
SAINT COLUMBA HOUSE works towards solidarity with the community of Pointe St-Charles and its search for justice. Community groups concered with welfare, traffice and safety, housing, and education.

SAINT COLUMBA HOUSE co-operates with the Community Clinic, the Legal Clinic, and other community based services.

Recently the HOUSE published a report on "The Gentrifcation of Pointes St-Charles." After thirty years of decay and declining population, the area is becoming desirable once again to young professionals who want to live near downtown Montreal. This report suggests that the revitalizaiton programmes sponsored and supported by the City of Montreal do not represent a spontaneous movement to support new home owners, but a carefully orchestratd rpogramme to clean up the undesireable areas of Montreal. What is not conisdred in all these programmes is the devastating impact of the revitalizaiton of local residents - evicted from their homes of twenty and thirty years.

The report carefully outlines the actual motives behind the movement of people from the suburbs to the city, and effects these programmes for renovations have had on th long time residents of Pointe St.-Charles.

A coaltion of members from eight community groups, including long term residents of the Pointe, was formed in May, 1981 in response to numerous phone calls from residents who were then receiving visits from city inspectors. The group intends to uncover information about the city's plans (as yet unannounced) and to warn and organize the public against them. it called itself "Action", a name chosen in part for its bilingual attributes. To date it has organized six actions which have been designed to reach a large local public, and capture the attention of the media (and hopefully the city).
The city, in the face of this activity has been relatively intransigent. It took one public assembly, one fete populaire occupation of city hall to bring about a public meeting with the city in November, of 1981. At this meeting the city simply agreed to reveal its plans for the Pointe - which had already been in progress since May of that same year.

The report makessuggestins about how best ot challenge the city on its proposals. These include the formation on non-profit housing, co-operatives for the long term residents of the area. The report is available from SAINT COLUMBA HOUSE.

This abstract was published in the Connexions Digest in 1982.