Family support helps get François back on his feet

When his mother died four years ago, François’s life was uprooted. With his mother no longer around, his father had to be moved into a residence where he could be cared for 24/7, the 60-year-old explained. At the time, François operated a workshop out of his parents’ home, so with the sale of the house, he had no choice but to sell all his tools as well. From that point on, François struggled to make ends meet, eventually resulting in a short stint of homelessness. “It was hard for me,” he recalled. In the years since, he has been working toward getting back on his feet. Now living with two roommates in St-Henri, François said he feels ready and able to work. He said he is looking forward to entering a reintegration program within the next few months, which will hopefully bring a welcome change to the austere life he now leads. Right now, François receives $75 a week for all of his expenses. It’s not a lot, he said, which means he purchases necessities strategically, scouting out sales and becoming familiar with which shops tend to have the lowest prices. “I have to calculate everything because otherwise, at the end of the day, I won’t have anything.” Even so, François said, “By Saturday and Sunday, I start to run out of food … It’s not easy.” This winter, François will be one of the thousands of Montrealers to receive a $125 cheque from the Montreal Gazette Christmas Fund. He said this money will go toward buying extra food. Despite the tumultuous few years, François considers himself fortunate. Through it all, he said, “I’ve maintained links with all of my family.” He speaks with two of his sisters daily, he said, and they provide him with a lot of support. Though his father can no longer host the family’s annual Christmas celebration, François said he looks forward to celebrating the holidays with his siblings, nieces and nephews all the same.