{"id":103301,"date":"2026-04-02T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/?p=103301"},"modified":"2026-04-13T13:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:47:05","slug":"finding-a-home-thanks-to-passages-fannys-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/blog\/finding-a-home-thanks-to-passages-fannys-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding a home thanks to Passages: Fanny\u2019s story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At age 35, Fanny lives in community supportive housing run by Passages, a Montreal agency that helps young women in vulnerable situations. After a life of unstable housing, family problems, and mental health challenges, this is the first time that Fanny has been able to stay in one place for so long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived here for seven years, which is the longest I\u2019ve ever lived anywhere in my entire life,\u201d Fanny said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Growing up in instability<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When she was young, Fanny\u2019s family life was difficult. \u201cI lived with my mom. We didn\u2019t live on the streets, but things weren\u2019t stable at home,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe were always moving around.\u201d As a child, she had to move from apartment to apartment and often between her mother\u2019s place and the home of her grandparents, who were important parental figures for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A childhood marked by constant relocation and insecurity made her feel like she never really belonged anywhere. \u201cI went to three different primary schools,\u201d she said. While Fanny has fond memories of her neighbourhood, she doesn\u2019t think back on it with a true sense of belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she got older, this instability continued in a different form. After moving out of her mother\u2019s home, she spent nearly a year going back and forth between crisis centres and shelters. \u201cI had to leave each place every two weeks,\u201d she said. Constantly moving meant that she could never catch her breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Finding Passages<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At one point, someone referred her to Passages, an agency that provides individual apartments to women along with support tailored to their needs. \u201cWhen I got here, the interview went well,\u201d said Fanny. \u201cI had to wait for an apartment to become available. That took about a month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 Passages<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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She arrived at Passages on April 1, 2019, at the age of 28. She signed a lease for the first time, which let her imagine a different future. \u201cIt was tough at first,\u201d she admitted. \u201cIt  was my first apartment.\u201d Going from a multi-storey house to a one-and-a-half came with its own set of adjustments to unfamiliar noises, isolation, and new responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little by little, however, she started to feel like the place was hers. \u201cI think that I really started feeling like the apartment was my home when I started decorating. I thought, \u2018Okay, this really feels like home now\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83c\udfe0 The Passages housing program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Launched in 2006, the Passages housing program provides women aged 18 to 30 with affordable apartments and community support. In partnership with the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d\u2019habitation populaire de l\u2019Est de Montr\u00e9al (SHAPEM), the agency offers 14 semi-furnished apartments where tenants can stay for as long as they need to. Two staff members spend five days a week helping women maintain their apartments and develop their independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Support that makes a big difference<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although all of the women at Passages live in their own apartments, they are by no means left to their own devices. Staff spend time with them every day, and a community space helps them feel less isolated. \u201cYou can go sit in the lounge to have a cup of coffee and chat with the other tenants. It helps you feel less alone,\u201d Fanny explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This support was especially important for her during difficult times, such as when she accidentally injured herself. \u201cI panicked, but some staff members came with me to the hospital. Just having them there made me feel so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, this support has helped Fanny become more independent, as she has learned to cook, take care of her apartment, and manage her anxiety. \u201cI used to have a lot of anxiety attacks and would often end up in the hospital. That doesn\u2019t happen much now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Behind every door of every community supportive apartment is a story of resilience and rebuilding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gaining the confidence to engage in life again<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today, Fanny stays very active. She attends a mental health day centre, volunteers at the CHUM, and takes part in creative activities. \u201cI paint, go on outings, and listen to a lot of music,\u201d she said while mentioning how important her cat is to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What gives her the most strength is her brother. \u201cHe\u2019s the most important person in my life,\u201d she said. In fact, she\u2019s thinking about eventually sharing an apartment with him at an HLM. \u201cWe grew up together, and we really understand each other. I\u2019d like to help him, just like he helps me with other things,\u201d said Fanny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Staying hopeful<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When asked what she would say to other women going through hard times, her answer was immediate: \u201cDon\u2019t lose hope. Get help. You can always find someone to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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1 out of 5 people receives our help.
5 out of 5 people benefit from it.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s all lend a hand<\/font><\/b><\/span>\n <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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DONATE<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Supporting a network of over 375 community agencies also means promoting an inclusive, poverty-free society.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At age 35, Fanny lives in community supportive housing run by Passages, a Montreal agency that helps young women in vulnerable situations. After a life of unstable housing, family problems, and mental health challenges, this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":103253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"968,40269,1144,66767,50662,40703","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[667,674],"tags":[672,678,679],"content-type":[493],"sector":[30,31,32,45],"class_list":["post-103301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mental-health","category-social-inclusion","tag-women","tag-homelessness","tag-mental-health","content-type-articles-en","sector-laval","sector-rive-sud","sector-hors-territoire","sector-ile-de-montreal"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 23:53:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103301"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103328,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103301\/revisions\/103328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103301"},{"taxonomy":"content-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-type?post=103301"},{"taxonomy":"sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centraide-mtl.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sector?post=103301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}