Montreal | A shelter for homeless Indigenous people inaugurated

(Montreal) The organization Projets autochtones Québec (PAQ) inaugurated its new shelter for indigenous people experiencing homelessness on Friday at the Hôtel des arts, in Montreal, in the company of Mayor Valérie Plante and the Minister responsible for Indigenous Affairs. , Ian Lafreniere.

The shelter, located in the Latin Quarter, will accommodate 50 people at a time and will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, said PAQ chief executive Heather Johnson. “It avoids putting people in the street when it’s cold in the morning,” she explained at a press conference.

In addition to single or couple rooms, users will have access to a laundry room and will receive three meals a day.

“There will be no limit in terms of stay,” added Mr.^me Johnson. Users “can stay as long as they want as long as they follow the rules”.

Psychosocial workers, a nurse and a security team will be present at all times to meet the needs of the clientele. “The idea is not to keep people here, […] it is to accompany them in their search for housing, work, ”she said.

The event took place outside, right next to the shelter, in a heated tent set up by the City. This heat stop will serve as a supervised consumption site, where it will be possible to drink alcohol or smoke cannabis safely.

“Some live with severe alcohol addictions,” said Ms.^me Johnson. They need to consume every few hours,” otherwise they risk experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms.

Indigenous people are “overrepresented in the homeless population,” she recalled, explaining that “these are often people who have experienced intergenerational trauma.”

This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.