(Montreal) A total of 188 new accommodation spaces for people experiencing homelessness and funding to expand the services of certain shelters: Montreal obtains a total of $9.7 million from Quebec to support its homeless population shelter this winter.
This was announced by the Minister responsible for Social Services Lionel Carmant in Montreal on Friday. He was accompanied for the occasion by Pierre Fitzgibbon, who is notably the minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal region, as well as the mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante.
This sum of 9.7 million is part of the 15.5 million announced in September by Quebec to finance shelter projects across the province. This announcement was made in the wake of the 2022 count showing an increase in homelessness throughout Quebec.
“Shelters make it possible to welcome people [en situation d’itinérance], they are a first step towards reaffiliation, explained Mr. Carmant at a press conference. The services we offer, we no longer just talk about winter measures. We are talking about things that will be in place 24/7, all year round, he adds. This will increase the number of beds in the territory and increase the number of 24/7 places in the territory. »
For Valérie Plante, this announcement is an “important” one. “The cold is coming, and we have this common desire to say that everyone has the right to be warm, safe, and to be welcomed with kindness,” she insisted.
The presence of Minister Fitzgibbon at this press conference demonstrates the commitment of the Quebec government to the issue of homelessness, said Ms.me Plant.
“I am delighted with this important investment, which will make a significant difference on the ground,” Mr. Fitzgibbon also insisted. The homelessness situation remains difficult in the metropolis. The aid could not be more timely than today. »
5,500 places in Montreal
Currently, Montreal has 5,500 places for people experiencing homelessness, according to the Santé Montréal website updated Thursday. These places include transitional places, dependency accommodation resources, crisis centers, hospitals and social and supervised housing.
Of this number, 1,600 places are emergency accommodation places. The amounts announced Thursday will make it possible to consolidate these, add services open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and add 188 additional places, said Mr. Carmant.
Montreal organizations have raised their hands to receive these funds and improve their services or add places, explained to journalists Catherine Giroux, head of the regional homelessness service for the CIUSSS-Centre-Sud-de-l’Île- from Montreal.
For example, the Center for Women of Conviction in Montreal — where the press conference was held — will double its reception capacity by winter, going from 15 places dedicated to itinerant women to 30 places.
Friday, La Presse reported that several roaming resources have been forced to reduce their services in recent weeks due to the labor shortage. Despite the new amounts allocated, the personnel issue remains glaring for roaming services, Mr. Carmant admitted to journalists.
The importance of a roof
“Although the announcement of an additional investment to consolidate and create new 24/7 places is a step in the right direction, it comes late when the cold has already set in,” reacted Benoit Langevin, spokesperson word of the Official Opposition to the City of Montreal on homelessness.
“We absolutely must move away from the seasonal and last-minute logic that forces community groups to open resources in the middle of winter,” he adds. The Plante administration must be held accountable for the actions for which it is responsible, namely those of ensuring that Montrealers are safe and have a roof over their heads. »
All those present on Thursday agree that emergency shelters should only be one component of the homelessness response. Emphasis should also be placed on access to a permanent roof.
In this sense, Mme Giroux also affirmed that in 2022-2023, 1,169 people experiencing homelessness were able to access housing with psychosocial support, thanks to the city’s various homelessness programs.
For Sam Watts, president and CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission met on site, shelter beds should only be temporary and allow rapid access to a permanent place.
In this sense, more than 200 new housing units dedicated to the homeless population are preparing to see the light of day in Montreal by the end of the fall, recalled Minister Carmant. The new Maison Benoît Labre in the South-West will offer 36 studios to the most vulnerable. On the city center side, the Le Christin building at Accueil Bonneau will add 114 housing units, and the new Robert Lemaire pavilion at Maison du Père, 54 studios.
Furnished studios intended for women who are homeless or at risk of being homeless are also still available in a new project by Chez Doris, rue Champlain in Montreal, underlined the general director of the organization Marina Boulos-Winton.