Sarah discusses the housing component of the research project “Beyond Volunteering, Relationality: How is Mutual Aid Organized at the Margins?” with Kenza Mellouki.
Kenza: Could you please introduce yourself?
Sarah: My name is Sarah. I am a master’s student in International and Intercultural Communication at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). I have been a research assistant on the “Mutual Aid at the Margins” project since January 2024. I specifically joined the sub-project focused on mutual aid within the context of the housing crisis in Quebec.
Kenza: What does your research component consist of?
Sarah: Alongside Nicolas Bencherki and Mathieu Chaput, two professors at Université TÉLUQ, we are interested in the concrete practices through which individuals request and share help related to the housing crisis. Our ultimate goal is to create a toolkit or a guide to assist people facing housing-related problems.
Kenza: What is your methodology?
Sarah: Our method involves conducting interviews with people who have had housing issues in Estrie, Quebec, specifically in the city of Granby. These will not be classic interviews but rather “walking interviews.” The idea is to ask questions about their experiences while taking a walk, during which they will show us significant places or locations from their journey.
Kenza: What is the objective of this method?
Sarah: The goal is to create a map that pays attention to the places where the stories and trajectories of these individuals intersect. We aim for them to present these places to us, explain why they are important to them, and, if they agree, take photos of these locations. We are inspired by a study conducted on homeless women who use drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia, who are trying to survive the housing crisis.
Kenza: Are there other forms of data collection besides walking interviews?
Sarah: We recruit participants for our study through community organizations. We also plan to conduct interviews with people working in these organizations who are in contact with those individuals and could speak to them directly about our research. Additionally, we conducted an initial online data collection on social media. The aim was to observe how people help each other in this housing crisis context through social networks. We collected and anonymized messages from several Facebook groups and Reddit communities, including both French-speaking and English-speaking groups. French-speaking groups focus on Quebec and Montreal, while English-speaking groups cover the rest of Canada. We reviewed these groups to see how mutual aid is organized and found various scenarios: people with housing problems, those looking for housing, those facing eviction, those having issues with their landlords regarding defective furniture, unsanitary living conditions, rent increases, etc. Sometimes, it is purely technical questions, such as: “What is my landlord allowed to do?” For example, “Are they allowed to come to my place with a spare key without giving me 24 hours’ notice?” People ask all sorts of things. Sometimes, they are looking more for comfort.
Kenza: Did you observe any differences between Facebook and Reddit?
Sarah: On Facebook, there are dedicated groups for housing searches where people offer or look for housing. There are also groups dedicated to legal and practical aid to help individuals. On Reddit, there is practical and legal advice, but there are also many more people sharing their personal stories.
Kenza: What were the profiles of the people present in these groups?
Sarah: We also realized that the profiles were very diverse. We saw messages from students, retirees, working individuals, families, single-parent families, people in their early twenties, etc. We really have very diverse profiles, which shows that the housing crisis affects everyone. One might think the crisis only affects those in precarious situations, but it also impacts people from the middle class who have jobs and manage to cope with housing prices but, for example, have a conflictual relationship with their landlord and do not know how to resolve it.
Kenza: Do you notice any trends emerging from reading all these posts?
Sarah: We noticed a certain pattern in how messages are formulated or structured. They generally start with a “Hello” or “Hey,” followed by a brief self-introduction that helps us understand their problem. Sometimes, before asking for help, the person eliminates solutions they have already considered. They usually end with a polite formula, a smiley, or something to say, “Thanks for reading my message,” “Thanks for responding,” etc. In the responses, we also observed certain patterns. Sometimes, people redefine the initial problem. Sometimes, they redirect by saying, “You think your main problem is this, but maybe it’s actually something else.” Sometimes, people give legal advice and may contradict each other in the comments. Sometimes, it is simply support the person is seeking when sharing stories, with others saying, “I am going through the same thing,” or “I know it’s hard, here is a number to help you,” etc. It is truly varied exchange depending on the stories shared. However, the form of the response itself often follows a similar structure.
Kenza: How do you envision your positioning as a researcher on the project?
Sarah: When I joined the research project, I had arrived in Quebec only a few months prior and was facing my own landlord issues. I had a rent increase of about 12% and did not know it was illegal and unfair. I was able to count on Nicolas and Mathieu, who guided me and told me I could contact my housing committee. It was also by consulting these Facebook groups for myself that I realized many people were in similar situations and were finding help on these housing groups. After all, it is not necessarily a miracle solution. But when other options are unavailable, social media can help. Especially when you are a newcomer and do not know how the country works. In my home country, housing committees do not exist; I did not know this was a resource I could potentially mobilize. So, the research resonated significantly with the problems I encountered. I may have also brought my perspective as a foreign student arriving in a country I do not know well, and who is also a victim of the housing crisis.
Kenza: What is the ultimate goal of your research?
Sarah: The goal is truly to document these experiences and to show that the housing crisis is not just numbers or what we see on television; it is also stories. It is about people in difficult situations who have been able to receive a helping hand. We want to document this to create a guide or toolkit so that people facing housing problems can benefit from resources. The aim is also to try to centralize these resources a bit. I feel there is a lack of centralization of housing resources. I find it complicated to find clear and understandable information for everyone on how to cope when facing housing problems.
Kenza: What are the next steps for you?
Sarah: We will begin contacting housing organizations in Granby in the summer of 2025. We will be able to distribute posters to recruit participants within these organizations. We will start data collection in the fall and plan to conduct walking interviews with a total of ten people.