By and for Indigenous people: A new shelter in downtown Montreal is redefining 'home'

The first urban shelter created and run by Indigenous people has officially opened in downtown Montreal, near Cabot Square. 

The Mitshuap shelter is an initiative by the Innu Nation and it comes in response to the death of Raphaël André, an Innu man who died after he was turned away from two shelters, partly due to COVID-19 restrictions, on a cold January night in 2021.

A warming tent was set up in his honour in Cabot Square. It was supposed to give temporary relief over two weeks, but it ended up lasting about 15 months. 

Now, the Mitshuap shelter, meaning "home" in Innu-aiman, hopes to provide a more permanent solution for Indigenous people experiencing homelessness on the streets of Montreal, explains administrator Nadia Robertson.

She says she hopes the shelter can give them a new perspective on what it means to be home given that several of them left their communities due to trauma or financial reasons. 

"Those people actually leave to try to seek a better life and sometimes, you know, they're not able to find a job here, they're not able to [be] in a safe place so when they come here, we're trying to give them hope, build their confidence again," she said.

The shelter can accommodate up to 15 women and 35 men, but Robertson says this is only the beginning and she hopes to see it grow into a bigger space in the future. 

"To me, it has to be a long-term solution," she says.

Council chief for the Innu community of Ekuanitshit Jean-Charles Piétacho agrees, saying he's only seen the unhoused Indigenous community grow in recent years. He's in charge of the homelessness division with the Innu Nation — a responsibility he took on after he became personally acquainted with the heartbreak of losing a child far from home. 

His daughter died a couple of years ago after living on the streets of Ottawa. 

"I wanted her to come back home, but I always respected her choice," he said. "There are nice stories of people who have [put] themselves together and studied and got an apartment, but it's difficult right now."

Piétacho hopes the shelter can help people — whether they're Indigenous or not — along that journey. 

"We give a lot of love here," he said. 

Cultural support is woven into the organization's mission, says Robertson. Clients can burn sage, smudge themselves, interact with staff in their own language and enjoy a warm meal, all while knowing they're in a judgment-free zone.