A new building with 18 housing units for people experiencing homelessness will be built next year in the Lachine district. For the Old Brewery Mission, which is piloting the project, it is a way for vulnerable people to take control of themselves, but the needs are immense and demand exceeds supply.
The housing project will be located at 605-615, rue William-MacDonald, in Lachine, where the Old Brewery Mission acquired land in March 2022. Demolition of the existing building has begun and decontamination work will follow. . If all goes well, construction of the new housing will begin in the spring for occupancy of the building in 2024.
Called Place Tenaquip and estimated at $8.3 million, the project will include 13 studios and five 3 ½ units to accommodate couples. More than half of its funding comes from the private sector with a contribution of more than 4.5 million from the Tenaquip Foundation and funding from federal and provincial programs. To complete the financial package, the City of Montreal will grant aid of $450,000 which will be approved Wednesday morning by the executive committee.
“Over the past 20 years, we have moved from ‘homelessness management’ mode to ‘homelessness solution’ mode,” says James Hughes, President and CEO of the Old Brewery Mission. Like other organizations, the Old Brewery Mission wanted to go beyond emergency aid for people experiencing homelessness to offer tools to enable them to escape precariousness.
The Mission now has a real estate portfolio of 121 housing units in five districts. By summer 2024, 88 housing units should be added. The organization has also established partnerships with NPOs to manage affordable housing and support vulnerable clients, whether they are at risk of homelessness or already experiencing homelessness. It also supports tenants who occupy accommodation in private buildings in several districts.
“These are ways of creating these bridges towards ending homelessness,” estimates James Hughes, who estimates the number of housing units supervised by his organization at around 350.
Mr. Hughes recognizes, however, that there is great demand for housing support and that the supply is quite insufficient given the scale of the needs. “According to the latest count, 4,700 people are homeless in Montreal while we have development opportunities for hundreds [de personnes]. The gap is so big,” he admits. “Homelessness is like a system. There are people coming in and people going out. But currently, there are many more people experiencing homelessness — not just in our establishments, but also in encampments, on the streets — than ever before. »
According to him, the work of preventing homelessness therefore takes on its full importance, as does the provision of housing for this vulnerable population. “Because if we don’t do it, we will continue to have to focus on and prioritize emergency services. And it is a failure if the City is forced to open emergency services. »