New sites not enough to shield Montreal's unhoused from the cold, groups fear

Joanne Houle was in a bad way this week, her boots and socks left soaking wet after a cleaning crew swept through the underground parking lot where she sleeps.

With her clothes freezing in the winter cold, Houle, 44, walked to different shelters in search of a dry pair of pants or a blanket to make do with.

But a spot to spend the night, she says, was out of the question.

“It’s full, it’s full, it’s full,” Houle said Wednesday as she kept warm in a downtown métro station. “I go from shelter to shelter, warm up for five minutes, and then wait for the métro to open.”

With extreme cold expected this weekend, the city of Montreal announced Wednesday it’s opening two new emergency warming sites in the Ville-Marie and Plateau-Mont-Royal boroughs.

But with shelters across the island already operating at capacity, organizations that work with Montreal’s unhoused population fear the measure, although welcomed, still won’t be enough.

The Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal (RAPSIM), which represents community organizations across the city, had warned in November that more shelter spaces were badly needed.

In an interview this week, the network’s director, Annie Savage, said the city opting to open two emergency sites is a step in the right direction but falls short of meeting demand.

“The extra spots are not sufficient; they will fill up before you know it,” Savage said.

“Every night there are hundreds and hundreds of people who cannot find a bed,” she added, warning of the health risks that come with the cold.

“So, unfortunately, we’re expecting the worst.”

On Tuesday, the network called on the city to open additional 24-hour warming centres for the weekend. It also urged authorities to keep at least five métro stations open overnight so people could stay warm until morning.

Contacted on Wednesday, the Société de transport de Montréal said it’s sensitive to unhoused people’s needs and works closely with partners to direct people in the métro toward shelters.

In periods of extreme cold, said spokesperson Philippe Déry, the network’s employees also know to be more tolerant with people seeking shelter.

But “as for opening a métro station all night long, the Montreal métro is not equipped to serve as a shelter,” Déry wrote in an email response.

Keeping stations open to help the unhoused is only done on an exceptional basis, he added.

For the agency to do so, the measure needs to be recommended by a committee that includes city officials, community groups and representatives from the regional health authority, the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.

A spokesperson for the health board said Wednesday the committee hasn’t yet deemed it necessary to keep métro stations open this weekend.

“For now, the priority is the additional spaces we’ve added, because that’s a more dignified and humanitarian solution for people experiencing homelessness,” said Jean Nicolas Aubé.

“We could still make the recommendation, but for the moment, with the measures in place, we are not there yet.”

According to the city, some 1,600 places are available this winter in shelters and warming sites — the most there has ever been.

The city’s two new emergency sites will be open from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. The Ville-Marie site opened on Tuesday while the other is set to open Thursday.

In addition, the city said its mobile intervention team and police officers will have an increased presence over the weekend to direct people toward services.

“We want to guarantee everyone a place,” Mayor Valérie Plante said during the city’s weekly executive committee meeting on Wednesday.

“If you see someone who seems to be in need, please communicate with the police,” Plante added. “We don’t want to leave anyone behind.”

Temperatures are expected to begin dropping as of Thursday, with Environment Canada warning of snow squalls and “a vigorous cold front.” Friday could see lows of -26 C, followed by -19 C on Saturday.

For Med Kaabouch, who was huddling with Houle on Wednesday, the cold snap is another reminder of how dangerous staying on the street can be.

The 71-year-old has been without an apartment on and off for the last four years.

Last winter, he said, a friend of his slept in a nook behind a downtown grocery store during one of the season’s coldest nights. He was rushed to a hospital in the morning with frostbite. Doctors had to amputate.

“But there are no spots left,” Kaabouch added, shaking his head. “We’re stuck outside. It’s full everywhere, so you sleep outside.”

The Montreal Gazette’s Jason Magder contributed to this report. 

jfeith@postmedia.com

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