The arrival of cold weather in Montreal is accompanied by a reduction in services for the most disadvantaged. Since the end of September, several roaming resources have been closed indefinitely due to a lack of staff. “I’m definitely scared about this winter,” worries Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission.
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The first flakes appeared in Montreal this week, coinciding with the surge in demand. This combination makes us fear the worst for the city’s roaming organizations, which are already at capacity.
But despite the onset of winter, there are fewer and fewer warm places in Montreal due to the labor shortage. Since September 21, three day centers have announced that they will have to suspend their activities, namely the Carrefour multiservice de l’Accueil Bonneau and the Chez Doris and Rue des Femmes day centers.
On Thursday, the Abri de Villeray shelter, located in the basement of the Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire church, announced the end of its services through Santé Montréal.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Quebec Native Projects shelter coordinator Dan Gazut
“We have heard that many shelters are closing, so we are very worried,” said Dan Gazut, coordinator of the Projets Autochtones du Québec (PAQ) shelter on Rue De La Gauchetière.
I think things will be complicated in Montreal this winter.
Dan Gazut, shelter coordinator for Projets Autochtones du Québec
At a press conference this Friday, the Minister in charge of Social Services, Lionel Carmant, must give an overview of the services offered to the homeless during the cold season. He will be accompanied by Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
Lack of staff
The labor shortage is hitting the community hard. “We had to close the Carrefour multiservice at Accueil Bonneau very reluctantly due to a lack of staff,” explains managing director Fiona Crossling in an interview.
The Old Montreal organization serves a meal every day to 400 people experiencing homelessness, while also providing various services. Normally, users could stay in the day center during the day, which is no longer possible. “We have to be careful not to exhaust the staff we still have,” emphasizes Ms. Crossling.
Accueil Bonneau hopes to reopen its service before the onset of cold weather, but no date has been set. The same story at the Chez Doris day center for homeless women in the west of downtown. The need there is great and the night shelter is always full.
” Wait [de rouvrir le centre de jour]We continue to offer a changing service twice a week. We continue to distribute hygiene products. And for those who are really in trouble, we offer subway tickets so that they can go in,” reports the organization’s general director, Marina Boulos-Winton.
Movement in the accommodation
Adding to these service disruptions is the impending closure of the emergency shelter at the Guy Favreau Complex downtown. The latter has 85 places.
A new center is to be opened in Verdun in the building that previously housed the Gordon Gardens. Several media outlets reported that the transfer of users will take place during the month of November.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The Quebec Native Projects shelter in downtown Montreal
In the city center, 54 new permanent studios for homeless men will also see the light of day in the Robert Lemaire Pavilion at the Maison du Père. The organization’s general director, Jaëlle Begarin, hopes that the first residents will be able to move in in December.
Like a game of musical chairs, these movements could free up space in shelters, she adds. Despite everything, demand is so great that the director doubts that she can meet everyone’s needs.
“The rule is to find a place when someone comes to our house and we are full. But last winter we didn’t find anything. And if the person had nowhere to go, sometimes the only answer was to go to the emergency room,” she testifies.
Shuttles and new accommodation 24/7
One of the new features this winter is that the PAQ accommodation in the city center has been open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since Thursday. “It is really permanent, we have hired more than 10 people in the team,” said Dan Gazut happily as he passed La Presse on Thursday.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Since Thursday, the Projets Autochtones du Québec animal shelter in downtown Montreal has been open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Several shuttles should also be set up in different sectors of the metropolis this winter to transport people experiencing homelessness from one resource to another, several directors told La Presse.
It’s hard to say whether these services will be enough to meet demand.
“At the start of extreme cold spells, some are ready to access emergency resources, but we are faced with a pretty sad reality: there is not enough space,” laments Sam Watts of Mission Bon Welcome. “But a person who is homeless doesn’t need shelter,” he remembers. She needs an apartment. »
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4690 Estimated number of people visibly homeless in Montreal, October 11, 2022
Source: Number of people experiencing visible homelessness (2022)
1,600 Number of places in emergency and transitional accommodation in Montreal
Source: Montreal Health