Faced with the increase in cohabitation problems in public spaces between the homeless and the general public, the City of Montreal has announced that it will hold consultations in the coming months.
The establishment of resources for the homeless in different neighbourhoods of Montreal raises the concern of many citizens, confronted with these vulnerable people, municipal officials acknowledge.
This is why the City is launching this consultation, in partnership with the Montreal Public Health Department, which will lead to the submission of a report in spring 2025.
“We are seeing that more and more residents, parents, families and business owners are concerned about how resources are planned in their area and we need to do better in anticipation of increasing needs. We have heard the population and we want to involve them in the search for clear tools to improve our practices and ensure a more harmonious integration of aid resources in the territory,” Mayor Valérie Plante stressed in a press release on Tuesday, calling on all stakeholders to be “lucid” on this subject.
At the same time, the Public Health Department unveiled new data from the October 2022 homeless count: of the 4,690 homeless people counted in Montreal, approximately 800 sleep outside shelters, on the street or in camps, often due to a lack of accommodation spaces.
Montreal also announced that two months ago it created a committee of experts to look into solutions to help homeless people access the services they need. The committee’s report is expected next fall.
More details to come.