MONTREAL – The emergency shelter at the former Royal Victoria Hospital in downtown Montreal will reopen Dec. 1, a spokesperson for the Old Brewery Mission confirmed to CTV News Monday.
The overflow shelter, which first opened its doors Jan. 15, has around 80 beds.
The idea behind the pilot project came after several organizations, including the Old Brewery, voiced their concerns about severe overcrowding in their facilities during the winter months.
By the time it closed in April, the facility had welcomed more than 1,000 men and 150 women during the cold winter months.
As a result, the centre was deemed a success by numerous advocates for Montreal’s homeless population.
Talks immediately began last spring on the possibility of reopening it again the following winter, following a report by the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
The report found that an average of 67 people stayed at the shelter each night.
Eighty-nine per cent of people were men, while 10 per cent were women and one per cent identified as transgender. All the people who stayed at the overnight shelter were between the ages of 18 and 85.
This year, a shuttle bus will again tour the city, coaxing people - and their pets - out of the cold and into warm beds.
The shelter will be open until March 31.
