Maison du Pre doubles reintegration program for homeless

Today, the Maison du Pre men's shelter and residence opened31 new single rooms, doubling the capacity of its reintegration program.

• LISTEN: Homerun's MorganDunloptakes a tour with Vincent Lavoie

Maison du Pre has been providing emergency shelter, reintegration services, temporary and long-termhousingfor men in Montreal for the past 45 years.

'They shouldn't be living outdoors. That's not a life,- FranceDesjardins,MaisonduPreChief Executive Officer

The reintegration program provides an affordable roomalong withlegal support, health care services, free meals, laundry and internet access.

According to Chief Executive Officer FranceDesjardins, last year 60 per cent of participants found a job or an internship while in the program and 69 per cent found a place to live.

Desjardins says clients come from a wide variety of backgroundsbut most are no longer in touch with their family and friends and many have health problems. She says66 per cent have a physical health problem and 42.5 per cent have a mental health problem.

"We're very concerned. We want to give a chance to people as much as we can. They shouldn't be living outdoors. That's not a life," says Desjardins.

The most recent statistics on homelessness are more than a decade old. In 1998, the Institut de la statistique du Qubec found almost 30,000 people had been to a shelter, soup kitchen or a day centre in Montral and about 13,000 did not have a fixed address that year.

New rooms

Each of the new single rooms hasa loft-style bed with a desk underneath as well as a chair, a closet and a large window.

Vincent Lavoie, 35, will be one of the first to move in.

"It looks very hygienic. It's brand new and it feels peaceful in here," says Lavoie.

He moved to Montreal six months ago and spent three months in the 170-bed Maison du Pre shelter before qualifying for the reintegration program.

For his new room, Lavoie will pay 25 per cent of his salary (when he gets one) plus about $150 per month. This comes out of his unemployment insurance for now.

"It's definitely not something I wanted to deal with. This is the first time I've had to do this. Every penny is being used to make things happen in this city for myself and my future," says Lavoie.

The $2.5 million expansion is funded in part by the federal government's Canadian Homelessness Partnering Strategy ($700,000), theCaisseDesjardinsduQuartierLatin cooperative financial group ($200,000) and theMaisonduPreFoundation ($1.5 million).

Volunteers also helped to get the 31 rooms ready. Suzanne Peeling is a retired project manager, who oversaw a recent expansion of thePalaisdescongrsand work on theWestmountLibrary. Peeling helped find architects, engineers and contractors and supervised the development atMaisonduPre.

Peeling says the work at the Maisondu Preis very important and she was happy to help out.