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Brandon Perrault was 26 years old when he first found himself homeless, sleeping in parks and washing his face at the mall come morning.

He left his reserve in Ontario with hopes of making a living in Montreal, but couldn’t quite land on his feet.

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He said it’s easy for aboriginal people to end up homeless in urban areas.

“You leave your rez and relocate to a city, and when you get there, you realize you have nothing,” the now 38-year-old said. “You only have yourself. It’s hard, it’s depressing.”

He’s found part-time work now and is doing better, he said, but still slips in and out of homelessness.

On Thursday, representatives of Montreal’s aboriginal community signed an agreement with the Montreal police that both sides hope will help cases like Perrault’s, and help put years of mistrust behind them.

The SPVM officially signed off on a new approach when it comes to dealing with aboriginal people in Montreal, mostly those who are homeless, based around recommendations made from the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network.