Due to a lack of staff, the women’s day shelter of the Chez Doris organization in Montreal announced Thursday that it would have to reduce some of the services it offers starting next Tuesday for a period of approximately two months.
During this period, access to meals, day beds and caregivers will therefore not be available at this shelter located in the Ville-Marie district. However, customers will be able to collect their mail and medications, as well as receive emergency clothing or hygiene products every Tuesday and Thursday between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
“There is a labor shortage and we are affected by that. We are not enough,” explains Marina Boulos-Winton, general director of Chez Doris. Several departures of employees for various reasons took place in June, July and August, she says in an interview with Duty. She therefore currently wishes to recruit up to 28 people for the day shelter.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has been working with women who are experiencing increasingly complex issues, says M.me Boulos-Winton. “The clientele is much more mortgaged than before. She has completely changed. This is a clientele that is much more marginalized, who have substance abuse problems and serious mental health problems. » This has an impact on employees, she emphasizes.
As for the Chez Doris night shelter, located near the day center, it will maintain its activities for the next two months, specifies M.me Boulos-Winton. The 24 emergency beds will therefore always be accessible and those who use them will be entitled to dinner, lunch, as well as snacks to take with them for the day.
The Chez Doris health and social services center will continue to offer its financial management program, its support and housing placement services and its socio-recreational activities.
“Enormous pressure” on the aid network
The temporary reduction of certain services at the Chez Doris day shelter worries Serge Lareault, commissioner for people experiencing homelessness for the city of Montreal. The organization welcomes several women, he maintains. “With the major increase in homelessness and the fact that there are a lot of people in crisis on new drugs in Montreal, this puts enormous pressure on our help network which is overflowing. »
According to a report from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec published last week, the number of homeless people in Quebec jumped 44% in 2022 compared to 2018.
In this context, Mr. Lareault believes that it is urgent for the Quebec government to provide more funding to organizations that are “running out of steam.” “If they have human resources issues like that, it’s because they lack funding and they operate their services with the minimum number of people,” he laments.