It is finally in the former borough office in the city center, located in the Saint-Roch district, that the homeless of Quebec will be able to spend the night starting December 18.
Located at 399 rue Saint-Joseph Est, the shelter of the “Répit Basse-Ville” project will replace the Cheminée nuit, which previously welcomed people in the premises of the Café Rencontre Center-ville soup kitchen, a little further to the East.
People experiencing homelessness will be welcomed on the ground floor, in the former district council room. Located at the corner of rue Saint-Joseph Est and rue de la Couronne, the building which houses the new premises is opposite the Gabrielle-Roy library. City employees still work there sometimes, but their offices will be closed during the new shelter’s opening hours. A day respite service is also available in the basement of Saint-Roch church, a few steps away.
Together, these two services should make it possible to offer service at all times, the City announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Several scenarios have been studied in recent months to replace the Night Chimney, indicated Olivier Martin, director of family and community support programs at the YMCA Saint-Roch, who was in charge of the shelter last year. There had been talk of opening three night shelters, but funds were lacking, he said. The idea of opening two was subsequently ruled out due to lack of sufficient staff.
In total, 23 employees will be responsible for the two service points, including two security guards stationed at 399 rue Saint-Joseph Est. To facilitate their recruitment, the salary offered to night staff increased from $26 to $28 per hour. The number of workers on site per shift has also been increased in order to improve their working conditions.
According to Mr. Martin, part of the project’s budget comes from homelessness funds released by the Legault government following the summit on homelessness held in mid-September, i.e. approximately $550,000.
In addition to the City of Quebec and the health authorities, several organizations are associated with this project: the YMCA Saint-Roch, the Archipel d’entraide, the Projet Intervention Prostitution Québec, the YWCA Québec and the Regroupement pour l’aide aux itinerants of Quebec.