The Silent Suffering: How Soaring Rents Are Forcing Our Neighbors to the Brink

Friends, I read this report, and honestly, it just breaks my heart. As an IT guy, I like to see things in black and white, but sometimes the numbers tell a story that’s far more human and tragic than any spreadsheet could convey. What’s happening in our communities, pushing people to the streets or even worse, is a crisis we absolutely cannot ignore.

Here are the hard facts that hit me square:

• Skyrocketing Costs: Rents have jumped a staggering 71% in just six years in places like Montreal, with recommended increases of 3.1% to 5% this year alone. That’s not sustainable for folks living paycheck to paycheck.
• Exploding Homelessness: The number of people without a home in Montreal grew by 33% between 2018 and 2022. Some reliable estimates put the true figure as high as 9,000 when you count those ‘invisibly’ homeless—sleeping in cars, on couches, or in unsafe situations.
• Eviction Stress is a Health Crisis: Tenant support groups, who are already stretched thin, are now acting as de facto mental health crisis centers. They’re seeing severe mental health issues, and even suicides, directly linked to the immense pressure and fear of losing one’s home.

This isn’t just about economic policy or abstract market forces; this is about our neighbors. This is happening right here, in our own backyards, and it’s hitting the most vulnerable among us the hardest – the elderly, the struggling families, those already dealing with health issues. As someone who believes we’re called to care for the “least of these,” I see this as a profound moral failing. When a basic need like shelter becomes a luxury many can’t afford, and people are literally dying from the stress of it, we have to stand up and say, “Enough.” We simply cannot, in good conscience, turn a blind eye to the silent suffering that’s unfolding all around us.

This story was analyzed for Christ P2P. You can read the original reporting here: https://therover.ca/rent-increases-set-to-worsen-the-housing-crisis/