Montrealers experiencing homelessness worry about plan to move downtown shelter to Verdun
CBC
Vincent Daoust says sleeping outside in Montreal is tough when the weather takes a turn for the worse, so he regularly heads to a shelter in Chinatown.
The former YMCA, located in the Guy-Favreau Complex, has served as a temporary shelter since the pandemic, but now it's closing and the city has announced a plan to open a facility in Verdun, located about six kilometres west.
The new shelter will also be temporary.
Daoust said he knew the shelter was closing on Oct. 31 after neighbours complained about the uptick in violence and drug use, but learning about the move to Verdun was a surprise.
"I think Verdun wouldn't be the right place to move the shelter," he said. "It's way too far."
He said people experiencing homelessness gravitate toward downtown, and not many people will use the Verdun shelter, even if there is a shuttle bus as planned.
Some will go, he said, but it's no use to open a shelter so far away. Eventually, he said, the same problems will arise and it will have to move again.
Marie-Andrée Mauger, mayor of Montreal's Verdun borough, announced that a social housing project on Gordon Street will temporarily serve as emergency accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
Though her announcement does not mention the closure of the Chinatown shelter, Mauger explained on Facebook that the former seniors' residence, Les Jardins Gordon, will temporarily provide respite for those in a vulnerable situation.
Montreal's housing corporation, the Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), had been planning to convert the residence into a housing complex with 70 to 90 affordable units.
The building, located in a quiet neighbourhood, has been unoccupied since 2022. The temporary shelter will be managed by the local health agency, the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
"Given the crisis of vulnerabilities and the increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout the metropolis, including in Verdun and the greater southwest, the borough has accepted that this building temporarily serves as emergency accommodations," said Mauger.
"It seemed immoral for us to leave a building vacant this winter, rather than making it temporarily available so that vulnerable people can be safe and warm."
She said the borough is working with the city's administration, police, the health agency and community organizations to "ensure the smooth integration of the resource and to promote harmonious social cohabitation."
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