New homeless shelter offers Indigenous people place to stay around the clock

A new 24-hour shelter for homeless Indigenous people is opening Mondayin Montreal.

The new temporary facility, a hotel on St-Dominique Street, in the city's downtown Latin Quarter, will have 50 beds, a laundry facility and provide visitors with three meals a day.

Clients will also be allowed to smoke and drink alcohol under supervision in a heatedtent right next door.

"But no hard drugs,"said Heather Johnston, head of Projets Autochtones du Qubec, which will manage the shelter.

Substance use will not be permitted inside the shelter itself.

"This type of resource was long overdue," said Nathalie Julien, intervention manager with Projets Autochtones du Qubec.

"People with addictions are an integral part of our society. This site will offer them a holistic, culturally-safe approach."

There will be a management team of 10 to 15 people present at all times with nurses and psychosocial workers available on site.

Visitors will also be offered culturally-adapted services, and an elder from Kahnawake will visit a couple of times per week.

Round-the-clock services

The shelter is intended to replace a 50-bed facilityat the Guy-Favreau complex, which was only open overnight.

Projets Autochtones du Qubec co-ordinator Joey Amos said the newSt-Dominique location is a big step.

Kicking everybody out of their bedsand out into the cold has long been an issue at homeless shelters, as it ensures people have no place to store their belongings or keep warm during the day.

On Friday, for the second time this month, a person experiencing homelessness was found dead in Montreal after a night out in the extreme cold.Back in November, an Inuk woman was found deadnear a downtown construction site.

The hope, organizers say, is to offer people a safer option than staying out in the cold.

"Indigenous people will be able to find their community in complete safety and will know what awaits them when they come here," said Julien. "We want to help them bounce back."

Long-term solutions needed

Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante said she's happy with the new facility but she wants to find long-term solutions to end homelessness.

"Really, we need to come out of the emergency kind of system," she said.

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Valrie Plante says the city and various resources are trying their best to get homeless people out of the cold and into shelters, as she opened a new shelter for Indigenous people at the former Htel des Arts in Montreal.

She wants to move away from the seasonal approach of offering more services during the winter and fewer in the summer.

"The answer is kind of easy in a way. And it's housing, housing, housing, housing, social housing, having community support," she said.

Plante said, who has been calling on the upper levels of government for support, said there are enough beds for everyone in Montreal for now. This new shelter will remain in operation until at least March 31.