The reception capacity of the emergency accommodation service at L’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal will be “gradually reduced” shortly, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, said on Tuesday.
This transition was “planned”, because the shelter headed by the Old Brewery Mission and the Welcome Hall Mission had been opened temporarily in the context of the pandemic, said the elected official. “ [Les gens seront relocalisés] either with organizations that will have raised their hands to make the transition, or towards supported housing with accommodation programs,” he explained.
In total, the place can accommodate 185 to 190 people spread over six floors. One of these is exclusively reserved for women. Unlike other shelters, the Le Royer pavilion at L’Hôtel-Dieu has rooms, which allows it to accept couples and pets. “So it’s an environment that has its pros, but it’s also very big. This is not ideal,” says the spokesperson for the Old Brewery Mission, Marie-Pier Therrien.
Without having had “official confirmation” of the date, the organization is currently working on a gradual reduction in the shelter’s capacity starting March 31, indicates Ms. Therrien.
This is also the day when funding allocated to the project will end. “But it doesn’t come as a surprise. We always knew that the funding would go that far,” she says.
For his part, the person responsible for homelessness on the City’s executive committee, Robert Beaudry, declares that Montreal continues to support “the health network and community organizations in the research and development of sites adapted to the needs of people “. “We always favor smaller locations, which are more conducive to better social cohabitation,” he adds.
New services
Earlier this year, the Old Brewery Mission made submissions to tenders for the development of emergency accommodation services. These procedures were launched by the integrated university health and social services center (CIUSSS) of Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
In the spring of 2024, the latter will acquire the L’Hôtel-Dieu building, which currently belongs to the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM). “The change of ownership and the early departure of community organizations from these places are not linked,” however, maintains Geneviève Paradis, media relations advisor for the CIUSSS.
She also affirms that it is still “too early” to announce what the future vocation of the Hôtel-Dieu pavilions will be. Different possibilities are currently being considered.