Controversial safe drug use site in St-Henri temporarily closes due to staffing issues

A controversial homeless centre and safe drug use site in St-Henri has been forced to temporarily suspend its services because it appears it doesn't have enough staff.

The doors at the Maison Benoit Labre are closed until Monday. In a statement the organization says it, "will be temporarily reducing its 24/7 services, due to a lack of manpower to adequately meet demand."

"I was personally shocked," said resident Jacqueline Lam, a member of the neighbourhood committee set up to facilitate cohabitation between the new centre and residents in the area.

Last week, CTV News reported there have been numerous troubling incidents between clients of the centre and children that attend the elementary school next door.

Lam says the centre has not lived up to its promises.

"From the beginning, they keep on reassuring us we have the funding, we will have the people to service the centre that's going to revolutionize the homeless shelter system, and look what happened," Lam said Wednesday.

"Within a month, they disturbed area, children have been exposed to things that they should never be exposed to. They are exposed to people masturbating and peeing, pooping next to them. And then now, they close down because they lack the personnel."

To help bridge the gap, the Old Brewery Mission is sending a mobile services van to the area twice per week

"We were here yesterday morning and today. So just support and support the team and the people, staying in the park right now. So we provide drinks, snacks, nurses," said Nicholas Singcaster, a psychosocial counsellor at the Old Brewery Mission.

For the roughly 30 residents who live here permanently, services won't change. School corridor services, clean-up brigades, and resident support will also continue as usual.

The city says for the next five days, there will be more police and intervention workers in the area and in the meantime, the centre says it will use the week of reduced services to hire and train new staff.