The homeless shelter at the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal could close in the coming months, one of the organizations that manage the place said Tuesday.
The Old Brewery Mission explained that the agreement which allows it to accommodate 190 vulnerable people in the old hospital on rue Saint-Urbain expires in the coming weeks.
“The current funding is until March 31,” said Marie-Pier Therrien, director of communications for Old Brewery. “We have not had any confirmation on what happens next. »
Mme Therrien indicated that “there are several scenarios,” including the possibility that there will be “no new admissions as of March 31,” with an effective closure in July. “We would start to make a transition to other sites, a gradual relocation. It’s not going to happen overnight,” she added, emphasizing that it was certain that the shelter would not suddenly close and throw its residents onto the street.
Noovo Info first revealed this situation.
The Hôtel-Dieu shelter was opened during the COVID-19 pandemic to accommodate homeless people who had to be placed in isolation. It then became one of the largest emergency shelters in Montreal.
Questioned by The Press two weeks ago on the possibility that the Hôtel-Dieu shelter would close its doors, the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) of South-Central Montreal simply stated that it does not “provide for the closure or reduction in the number of emergency accommodation beds in the Montreal region”.
By Tuesday, the message had changed. “Opened as part of the pandemic, the emergency accommodation places dedicated to people experiencing homelessness and offered at the former Hôtel-Dieu Hospital represented a temporary measure,” indicated the organization. “The transition of this shelter is discussed with [les organismes communautaires] for several months, a question of giving organizations time to prepare. »
Hôtel-Dieu currently belongs to the CHUM, which is in the process of transferring ownership to the CIUSSS.