The hotel-turned-homeless shelter at Place Dupuis will close down June 30. Then what?
In November 2020, when Hotel Place Dupuis found its rooms empty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision was made to offer said rooms to those in need: Montreal’s unhoused community.
Since then, up to 380 beds have been available in this makeshift homeless shelter, providing temporary housing to some of the city’s most vulnerable populations.
But on June 30, this will no longer be the case.
With the vaccination rollout underway and a return to normalcy in sight, Hotel Place Dupuis will resume its pre-pandemic operations at the end of the month. Soon, its rooms will re-open to tourists and travelers.
Nakuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal and director of development philanthropy for Resilience Montreal, says finding a new home for the hotel’s temporary residents is imperative because other shelters may not have the space to take them in.
“The problem is that, even though we’re sort of going into this ‘orange zone’ and eventually into a ‘yellow zone,’ the capacity hasn’t increased,” she said. “[This] means that regular shelters can only support a lower number.”
Sam Watts, CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, the organization that runs the Place Dupuis shelter, says his team has been focused on providing new accommodations for the hotel’s residents.
“What we’ve got is a plan that is coming together right now that’s going to ensure that people can transition to another facility,” he said.
While Watts believes the new facility will provide an even higher quality of care than the hotel, there are still some logistical unknowns.
“Nothing is ever guaranteed,” he said, “but at this point in time we’re confident that the plan is coming together.”
HOMELESS DURING A HOUSING SHORTAGE
Between economic shutdowns, reduced-capacity shelters and fast-spreading outbreaks of COVID-19, the pandemic has made life especially difficult for Montreal’s unhoused population.
But according to Quebec solidaire (QS) spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, it must be emphasized that the pandemic is not the root cause of homelessness in the city, and that these issues have been here all along.
“The housing crisis existed before the pandemic. The rise [in] homeless people in Montreal and across Quebec existed before the pandemic. The pandemic just, maybe, put a flashlight on those problems,” he said in a press conference Thursday.
Nadeau-Dubois said the Quebec government can take immediate action in addressing homelessness and the housing crisis through preventative measures. He recalls how the province established a moratorium on evictions last year in response to economic hardships caused by COVID-19.
“The government can — this morning, or today, or this weekend — stop evictions in Montreal and across Quebec,” he said. “They did it last year, why don’t they do it this year?”
Last year’s months-long moratorium ended on July 20, 2020.
Not all politicians are in agreement that the housing crisis even exists, however. Just last month, Andrée Laforest, Quebec’s minister responsible for housing, cited data showing an increase in vacancy rates between 2006 (0.6 per cent) and 2020 (2.7 per cent).
“We are not at all in a housing crisis,” she said.
However, Laforest’s assertion did not take into account the rising number of tenants that are currently searching for homes, and the ongoing elevation in rental costs.
Last year, the average cost of rent in Montreal increased by 4.2 per cent — the biggest jump in 20 years.
“It’s incredibly difficult to find affordable housing,” said Nakuset.
“If [housing] was not an issue that wouldn’t have homelessness in the numbers that we do now.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.