Steps from city hall, Montreal opens an emergency warming centre — filled with chairs
Rooms lined with plastic Muskoka chairs an 'imperfect solution' to homelessness crisis, mayor admits
With winter only days away and a cold snap in the forecast, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced the opening of a new warming centre where homeless people can take refuge.
The newly renovated space is bare-bones: it consists of two rooms lined with plastic Muskoka chairs. There is another room where people will be able to get something to eat or have a warm drink.
After a tour of the space on Thursday, Plante acknowledged it was not a "perfect solution" but said it was a "humanitarian" one.
The warming centre, located in the historic Lucien-Saulnier building in Old Montreal, which served as the city's administrative home during recent renovations to nearby city hall, will be able to accommodate about 30 people — 24 men and six women.
Plante said it was opened to give people an alternative to sleeping outside during the winter months.
Derek Wilkie said he's been homeless for about a year, and that lately it's been difficult to find a bed. When he does, he's crammed into an overcrowded room.
"There's almost nowhere left for me to go," Wilkie said, standing outside a shelter in downtown Montreal. He said an extra warming centre was welcome, but what he really wants is a place to call home.
"I used to feel like an eagle, now I'm a snail. And somebody stepped on me," he said.
Last week, a 55-year-old man was found dead outside in the eastern Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district. Advocates have been sounding the alarm about the homelessness crisis and the lack of space in shelters around the city.
The temperature is forecast to drop to a low of -17 C on Saturday night and -20 C on Sunday night.
Plante wants more help from province
The mayor has been critical of the Quebec government for being slow to address the growing homelessness crisis in Montreal.
On Thursday, she once again called on the province to do more to address the underlying causes of homelessness, starting with housing.
"I don't think it's fair for citizens, I don't think it's fair for the people in the streets and I don't think it's fair for society. We need to have a long-term plan," she said.
The Ville-Marie borough is footing the $20,000 renovation bill for the new warming centre, she said. The fire department and workers with the city's social intervention team will staff the space.
Ultimately, Plante said she expects the province to cover the costs, after it secured $50 million in federal funding last week.
The office of Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant told Radio-Canada in a statement that the province recognizes the importance of supporting temporary shelters, and that $24 million of that funding would be used for Montreal over two years — including for emergency warming centres.
This new warming centre will be open overnight starting Friday through the winter.
Two other warming shelters will also be opened on Saturday and Sunday, when the temperature is expected to drop. One of those emergency warming shelters is located at the downtown YMCA. The other is at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).
Shelters critical of lack of planning
Samuel Watts, CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, said Thursday's announcement is a reflection of the poor planning by all levels of government when it comes to addressing homelessness. The head of another shelter, Maison du Père, also called for more lasting solutions that go beyond stopgaps like warming centres.
The Welcome Hall Mission was among the groups that were asked to help run the facility but declined. Watts said people experiencing homelessness "don't deserve just a chair in a room so that they don't freeze."
"I'm very much in favour of any action that will save lives because we do need to make sure that we do. But to come to us at the very last minute with a plan that wasn't even very clear — you know, it's not something that we can jump into," he said.
"It's not the solution. The solution that we need is quick access to permanent housing."
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With files from Mélissa François and Radio-Canada's Camille Gaior