Since the spring floods damaged their home in Saint-Placide, Laila Nejmi and Isabelle Dyens have been living in cramped quarters.
After seven months of sharing a motel room, the women say they were astonished to learn from the Red Cross that they have to leave. Their home is uninhabitable and they say they have nowhere else to go.
When the flooding was at its worst, the water rose almost 10 meters in some areas of Dyon’s two-acre property.
The women say they did everything they could to save their home.
“It was like being in survival adrenaline every single day, let’s just go,” Nejmi said.
In the end, their efforts weren’t enough, and mold spread all over their house.
“Im feeling very stressed and tired,” said Nejmi. “I havent slept for months and really fighting and fighting.”
The Red Cross acts in support of the provincial government. So, if the government decides the flood victim is no longer eligible for funding, then the Red Cross will stop supporting the individual as well.
However, because the Quebec government will not comment on specific cases, it’s not clear why Dyens and Najmi’s funding is being cut.
“We’re in this country and it’s now winter and they are putting people out on the streets,” said Dyens.
According to the city, the majority of people in Saint-Placide have been helped.
“We had 153 flood victims here in Saint-Placide and so far there has been $663,000 given in compensation,” said Richard Labonte, the city’s mayor.
The Red Cross has confirmed that at least 100 families across Quebec are still without a permanent place to live because of the floods.
Nejmi and Dyens hope they’ll be able to return home eventually, but for now they’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for a new place to live.
