New hope for Montreal homeless centre in danger of shutting down

The Open Door, a downtown Montreal drop-in centre whose clients are largely Indigenous, will "most definitely" be staying open and is on the verge of finding a new home.

Though nothing has been signed yet and the centre still needs to get approval from the city to relocate, "we have very good reason to be optimistic," said David Chapman, the centre's acting director.

"It's encouraging to see movement that's very tangible, and to see support coming out."

The centre has been operating out of St. Stephen's Anglican Church, in Westmount not far from Cabot Square, for nearly 30 years. It provides food and clothing, shelter, counselling, and employment assistance, among other services, to the homeless and low-income people.

Roughly half of all 150 people who come to the Open Door on a daily basis are Inuit. The centre also offers carving, housing and transition programs for those hoping to one day return north. 

But the church building has been sold, leaving the Open Door until July 31 to find a new home. Many of its clients were distraught at the thought of it closing down.

Finding a large and affordable space in the same area had been proving difficult, but Chapman said they are now in talks with a local church, within walking distance of Cabot Square, that has indicated that their hall could house the centre.

Chapman and others have been meeting with community partners every two weeks to hammer out the details.

And even though nothing has been finalized, Chapman said closing the centre for good was never an option.

"We're simply not willing to put an enormous homeless population on the street. It's as simple as that."