On the move: Montreal's West Island food bank, shelter relocate to face rising demand

Two organizations that provide services to the most vulnerable in Montreal's West Island have to scale up their operations due to a growing need.

Both the West Island Mission food bank and Ricochet shelter say they've been having a hard time keeping up with demand and have to move into bigger locations. The West Island Mission is moving into a new warehouse and will nearly double in size while Ricochet is planning to move next year.

Homelessness has been a growing issue in the West Island, and intervention worker Katherine Guerrero and her co-workers at Ricochet say they are forced to turn people away every night.

"I feel very sad. I feel guilty. I feel like I'm not doing my best to help them," said Guerrero.

The shelter has seen an increase in clientele over the past few months — receiving over 6,000 visits in seven months, according to Tania Charron, executive director of Ricochet. She said it's impossible to find affordable apartments to rent in the area.

Charron says most people facing homelessness in the West Island don't want to go all the way downtown to use a shelter. If they are turned away from the Pierrefonds shelter, they prefer to sleep in their cars or on the street.

But opening a larger shelter in a new location nearby will be the start of a new chapter. Though the exact location hasn't been revealed yet, Charron says it will be more centralized to the West Island and have better access to public transportation.

Tania Charron, Ricochet's executive director, says the shelter is having a hard time meeting the demand on its services. (Kwabena Oduro/CBC)

The new shelter will be a major upgrade, she said. It currently has two showers, a kitchenette, and a washer and dryer. A large kitchen, two laundry rooms, a dozen showers and 48 beds will also be available to the public. Charron is hoping the expansion will help ease the strain on other shelters across the island.

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"It's a relief. We're going to be autonomous and be able to develop new programs. It's fantastic," she said. "Homelessness in the West Island and everywhere is getting worse and worse. We really need to find solutions and do something about this social crisis."

The move is expected early next year.

Benoit Langevin, a city councillor for Pierrefonds-Roxboro welcomes the expansion, saying he's concerned by the increase in unhoused people in his borough. He says resources like beds and food banks are more needed than ever.

"If we don't augment the places that are available in our emergency system network, we will have more and more encampments." he said. "Public security and policing will only have the impact of bringing somebody from one park to another. Throwing people outside does not work."

West Island Mission executive director Suzanne Scarrow says the need for the food bank isn't letting up, so it's moving to a giant warehouse which will soon be filled with food. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC)

Food insecurity also on the rise

The West Island Mission, currently located in Pointe-Claire, says the number of people who rely on the food bank has doubled since 2020. It currently feeds about 400 families per month.

Executive director Suzanne Scarrow says the need isn't letting up. Demand for food basket services jumped 32 per cent last year.

That's why the organization is moving to a giant warehouse, which will soon be filled with food.

"We get to build exactly what we want," Scarrow said. "We're not dealing with old desks and old offices and making it work. We get to build our dream."

Scarrow said the move has been in the works for a couple of years, ever since demand exploded during the pandemic.

The new location will be in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a three-minute drive away from its current spot. It's set to start operations in June.

The kitchen will be shared with Volunteer West Island, which will run a Meals on Wheels program.

Lydia Barrett, executive director of Volunteer West Island, says the goal is to start serving 60 people and build up the program to support more people in need.