Lack of emergency beds, shortage of manpower and numerous outbreaks: the homeless community is on a tightrope in Montreal as the Omicron wave begins to surge. To cope with this, the isolation center for homeless people with COVID-19 moved on Wednesday to double its reception capacity.
This isolation center for homeless people positive for the virus moved to the Chrome hotel on Boulevard René-Lévesque on Wednesday, in the heart of downtown Montreal. Managed jointly by the Old Brewery mission and Montreal Public Health, it can accommodate up to 108 people. Its previous capacity, at the Abri du Voyageur hotel, was around 40 beds.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
The Chrome Hotel, René-Lévesque Boulevard, in the heart of downtown Montreal
“From the moment our shelters are hit by Omicron, it will be a disaster and we will find ourselves in great difficulty,” fears Michel Monette, general manager and founder of CARE Montreal, an organization that manages three shelters and 300. emergency beds in the east of Montreal.
“It must be said that when a wave affects the general public, homeless people are always reached, with generally two weeks of delay”, also observes Sam Watts, president and general manager of the Mission Bon Accueil. The organization offers, among other services, 250 emergency beds for the homeless in the city center.
Between labor shortages and outbreaks
The shortage of manpower accentuated by the pandemic is glaring in the care of homeless people. About 20 community organizations are grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks right now, according to Watts.
“With us, it is a total disaster, launches Michel Monette. I have 21 positive employees at the moment, out of 200! CARE Montreal is at risk of disrupting services in its shelters, which are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If we add that to the labor shortage that was there before, we already had a hard time finding staff. There, in addition, the staff is sick!
Michel Monette, Managing Director and Founder of CARE Montreal
Two employees were also tested positive at Quebec Native Projects (PAQ). “If we have ten members of the team who go for 10 days in isolation, it will be very difficult to keep the two shelters open,” said with concern Heather Johnston, director of the organization.
The Maison du Père, whose emergency services have more than 100 places, also has employees suffering from COVID-19, as well as two residents. The organization follows a protocol linked to the pandemic and can no longer welcome new users until the immediate crisis subsides.
Not enough places for everyone
It is estimated that 3,100 people are homeless in Montreal. Last winter, 1,650 places in emergency beds were available, in particular because the Place Dupuis hotel had been temporarily transformed into a refuge. It closed its doors to homeless people in the summer of 2021.
“This year, the target was 1550, but we could not reach this peak because of COVID-19”, explains James Hugues, president of the Old Brewery Mission. The majority of shelters in Montreal had to reduce their reception capacity to comply with social distancing measures in March 2020 and have not been able to return to normal since.
Mr. Hugues estimates that 1,450 emergency places are now available, 200 less than last year. All organizations consulted by Press claimed to be full every night and to have to turn people away.
“It’s obvious that there are people who have no room,” says Sam Watts of the Welcome Hall Mission. And that is something that shouldn’t exist. ”
New faces
The directors of the various organizations are also observing that new faces are appearing on the streets.
“The thing that strikes the most is the number of new ones we are going to have, despite the small number we welcome,” notes François Boissy, President and CEO of the Maison du Père. This number has doubled compared to before. It becomes worrying. ”
Poverty, housing crisis, mental health problems: a multitude of factors can lead people to the streets. All of the agencies – each of which provides longer-term shelter services – agree that emergency beds, while essential, are not enough. Different solutions, such as social housing, are needed.
“Every day, we have new people who come to our shelters,” says Michel Monette, of CARE Montreal. But our shelters are congested with chronic residents who have been there from the start. And I am not able to provide them with an apartment. ”