Amid cold snap, shelters remind Montrealers to be gracious with unhoused population

Inside de Castelnau métro station, Yvon, 61, was sitting on the stairs Saturday morning to keep out of the -11 C cold.

When it gets below -20 C at night, “I go to Tim Hortons” on Mont-Royal Ave. or Parc Ave. and order a hot chocolate, he said. “I move around a lot,” he added, since very few places are open at night.

As temperatures dip well below zero in Montreal, shelter managers are reminding Montrealers to be gracious with the unhoused population, many of whom are braving the winter outdoors.

“We have to recognize that we have a responsibility collectively towards people who are struggling and people who are vulnerable,” said Sam Watts, the CEO of Welcome Hall Mission. “At this time of year, we do tend to think of other people. I think that reflex sometimes fades a bit as we get into January and February” when the holiday period ends, he added.

A special weather statement from Environment Canada warns about freezing rain forecast to begin Sunday night in southern Quebec. The overnight low on Christmas day was -18 C, and is expected to hit -15 C overnight Saturday.

“There’s homeless people outside right now — lots of them,” said James Hughes, CEO of Old Brewery Mission. “They’re trying to get inside in the métro system, they’re trying to get inside in the hospitals, but they’re often outside, and they’re going to try to tough it out” in tents and retail doorways.

For people walking outside, Hughes urges Montrealers to “keep your eyes open” for unhoused people, and if they seem in distress or are having a medical emergency, “call 911.”

“Homeless people can find themselves, for a variety of reasons, not sometimes making great decisions — staying outside when they shouldn’t be outside. And many of them will be open to going inside if they’re given the chance,” Hughes said.

There’s also the 211 helpline, Watts noted, which activates the appropriate resources in the caller’s neighbourhood.

The overnight shelters this time of year are almost always full, Watts and Hughes said. Across Montreal’s overnight shelter network, there are over 2,500 spots, which Hughes said is 500 more than last year.

“Those aren’t all rooms or or even beds. They’re often spaces, chairs or mats. And they’re inside,” Hughes said. “The focus is saving lives.”

Before the pandemic, Watts said there were 900 emergency beds in Montreal. “Now there are 2,500 to 3,000 depending on how you want to count them. And you know, that’s not the answer. The answer isn’t to see how many we can build up. The answer is to see how fast we can empty out that space” by getting people permanently out of situations of homelessness, and working on long-term prevention.

lschertzer@postmedia.com

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