The homeless shelter at the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal will gradually close in the coming months, Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant said Tuesday.
The closure, “it’s something planned,” he said, in a corridor of the National Assembly. “It has often been said that 180 individuals is a lot for cohabitation. (…) Capacity will be gradually reduced and everyone will be relocated. »
“We don’t want anyone to return to the streets, that’s clear,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the Old Brewery Mission explained that the agreement which allows it to accommodate nearly 200 vulnerable people in the former hospital on Saint-Urbain Street is expiring in the coming weeks.
“The current funding is until March 31,” indicated Marie-Pier Therrien, director of communications at Old Brewery. “We have not had any confirmation on what happens next. »
In interview, Mme Therrien had raised the possibility that there would be “no new admissions from March 31”, with an effective closure in July. “We would start to make a transition to other sites, a gradual relocation,” she added, emphasizing that it was certain that the shelter would not close suddenly by throwing its residents onto the street.
A temporary shelter
The Hôtel-Dieu shelter was opened during the COVID-19 pandemic to accommodate homeless people who had to be placed in isolation. It then became one of the largest emergency shelters in Montreal.
Questioned by The Press two weeks ago on the possibility that the Hôtel-Dieu shelter would close its doors, the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) of South-Central Montreal simply stated that it does not “provide for the closure or reduction in the number of emergency accommodation beds in the Montreal region”.
By Tuesday, the message had changed. “Opened as part of the pandemic, the emergency accommodation places dedicated to people experiencing homelessness and offered at the former Hôtel-Dieu Hospital represented a temporary measure,” indicated the organization. “The transition of this shelter has been discussed with (community organizations) for several months, to give organizations time to prepare. »
Robert Beaudry, responsible for the homelessness issue on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, said he knew “that there is a desire to take over the premises for other uses” at the Hôtel-Dieu. “It’s a temporary resource. For us, we were always thinking in the medium term about alternatives. »
“Our objective is not to see the number of places decrease,” he added.
Hôtel-Dieu currently belongs to the CHUM, which is in the process of transferring ownership to the CIUSSS.
reference: www.lapresse.ca