Roaming | “It’s going to be complicated in Montreal this winter”

The arrival of cold weather in Montreal is combined with the reduction in services for the most disadvantaged. Since the end of September, several roaming resources have closed indefinitely due to lack of manpower. “I certainly have fears for this winter,” worries Sam Watts, CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission.

The first flakes appeared in Montreal this week, at the same time as the increase in needs. This combination makes us fear the worst for the city’s roaming organizations, which are already at full capacity.

However, even as winter arrives, warm places are decreasing in Montreal, due to lack of labor. 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 day centers at Chez Doris and Rue des femmes.

Thursday, it was the turn of the Abri de Villeray shelter, located in the basement of the Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire church, to announce the end of its services via Santé Montréal.

“What we heard is that a lot of shelters are closing, so we are very worried,” says Dan Gazut, coordinator of the Projets Autochtones du Québec (PAQ) shelter, rue De La Gauchetière.

At a press conference this Friday, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, must provide an update on the services that will be offered to the homeless for the cold season. He will be accompanied by the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante.

Lack of staff involved

The labor shortage is hitting the community hard. “It was really reluctantly that we had to close the Carrefour multiservice at Accueil Bonneau, and it was due to lack of staff,” explains general manager Fiona Crossling in an interview.

The Old Montreal organization serves a meal daily to 400 people experiencing homelessness, while offering various services. Users could normally stay during the day in the day center, which is no longer possible. “We have to make sure that we don’t exhaust the employees who are still there,” emphasizes M.^me Crossing.

Accueil Bonneau hopes to be able to reopen its service before the arrival of the cold weather, but no date has been set. Same story at the day center of the organization for homeless women in the west of downtown Chez Doris. There, the needs are dire and the night shelter is always full.

” Waiting [de rouvrir le centre de jour], we still offer locker room services, twice a week. We continue to distribute hygiene items. And for those who are really struggling, we offer metro tickets so they can be inside,” reports the organization’s general director, Marina Boulos-Winton.

Movement in accommodation

Added to these service suspensions is the imminent closure of the shelter located in the Guy-Favreau complex, downtown. The latter has 85 places.

A new center should open in the building which previously housed the Gordon Gardens, in Verdun. The transfer of users should take place during the month of November, several media reported.

In the city center, 54 new permanent studios for homeless men in the Robert-Lemaire pavilion at the Maison du Père will also see the light of day. The first residents should be able to move in in December, hopes the organization’s general director, Jaëlle Begarin.

Like a game of musical chairs, these moves could free up places in shelters, she adds. Despite everything, the demand is so strong that the director doubts she will be able to meet all the needs.

“The rule is to find a place when someone comes to our house and we are full. But last winter, we found nothing. And if the person couldn’t go anywhere, sometimes the only response was to go to the emergency room,” she testifies.

Shuttles and new shelter 24/7

Among the new features this winter, the PAQ shelter in the city center is now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since Thursday. “It’s really permanent, we have hired more than 10 people in the team,” rejoiced Dan Gazut as he passed by. The Press THURSDAY.

Several shuttles should also be set up this winter in different sectors of the metropolis to transport people experiencing homelessness from one resource to another, several directors indicated to The Press.

It is difficult to know if these services will be enough to meet demand.

“At the start of periods of extreme cold, some are ready to access emergency resources, but we are faced with a rather sad reality: there is not enough space,” laments Sam Watts, of Mission Bon Welcome. “But a person experiencing homelessness does not need shelter,” he recalls. She needs somewhere to live. »