“I’m not even sad. I’m angry, I’m in shock this morning. And it’s sincere,” said Éric Boulay, general manager of Lauberivière, in an interview with Le Soleil on Tuesday.
The latter knew Marcel Saint-Laurent personally, as he had benefited from Lauberivière’s services for several years.
On Friday, his body was found in a Quebec incinerator. The corpses were transported by truck and found during the unloading of residual materials.
Monday night, the identity of Marcel Saint-Laurent was announced by the coroner. From then on, the Lauberivière team was shocked. Some speakers have supported Marcel for many years, argued the management of the organization.
“It is a great sadness. Imagine ending your life in a garbage can…” exclaimed Mr. Boulay, who was visibly emotional.
A fragile system
Éric Boulay had difficulty explaining what led to the death of the 61-year-old man. He hopes the results of the investigation will help solve the mystery.
“I have the impression that, as a society, we can escape when these situations occur. I have experienced the sadness and anger of it. »
Marcel Saint-Laurent was well supported in Lauberivière, but over the months his health deteriorated. According to Éric Boulay, the 61-year-old man may need more hospital care.
“Yes, there is a community network, but we also need quick health care tailored to homeless people,” he said.
Organizations lack resources
This is the second incident that has caused the death of a homeless person since the beginning of the year in Quebec. In April, Gilles Gosselin, a homeless man, was beaten to death near Marina Saint-Roch. Two suspects were arrested and charged with first degree murder.
“What are we doing as a society to make these people less dangerous? That takes a better social safety net, better access to health care and more prevention. It takes more investment,” he said.
The general director of Lauberivière will participate in the summit on homelessness on Friday, which will bring together political and community stakeholders. He hopes the meeting will provide more resources for the community sector.
“If we had more resources to support people, maybe less would fall through the cracks in the system.
