As Montreal dug out from its first major snowstorm of the season, the city’s homeless service providers said they were prepared and ready to protect the city’s most vulnerable residents.
James Hughes, president and CEO of the Old Brewery Mission, said his organization was ready when the snow began to fall.
“Like everyone else, we had some notice that a snowfall was coming,” Hughes said. “It was pretty early for sure, but we’ve done this many winters. There’s no exception. Old Brewery services were open at all times. There was no interruption of services whatsoever.”
The mission, which has supported people experiencing homelessness for 135 years, kept all its programs running — from emergency beds to prevention services.
Hughes praised his staff, calling them “amazing teams who make sure our services are open 24/7 for people who are living in a situation of homelessness.”
He said while the recent public transit strike created added challenges, both the strike and the storm highlighted the need for consistent, year-round support.
“It doesn’t stop at the end of winter, nor does it start at the beginning of winter. So we always have to be open. And it’s really important to really think about the kinds of services that we want to bring to bear for this very vulnerable clientele,” he said.
“You need highly trained staff that are well paid and well trained. So it’s hugely important for us not to just run programs for the winter,” Hughes added.
The Old Brewery Mission is ready to expand capacity if needed this winter, but lasting solutions depend on housing, Hughes says.
“Homelessness continues to grow in our city as it is growing in other cities as well. But we can’t just grow emergency services and shelter services because that means that’s the only answer we have. We have to at the same time grow our capacity to house people. Those two services have to go up at the same speed. And so we’re very excited that there’s a new mayor with homelessness as one of her key priorities,” he said.
Hughes said the mission looks forward to working closely with the newly elected mayor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, and her administration.
“We’re excited to work with her and wish her luck. We’ll be right beside her to try to bend that curve of homelessness, which is right now going in the wrong direction. Let’s bend it so it goes in the right direction, which is down towards elimination one day.”
For Antonio Tanelli, a client of the Old Brewery Mission, the organization was more than just shelter from the cold — it was a lifeline.
“It started last December and well I had family problems and it saved my life,” Tanelli said. “If it wasn’t for this place I don’t know where I’d be. It really saved my life.”
Tanelli said staff have helped him work toward finding stable housing.
“It started off with just a roof over my head but they’ve helped me with a lot of things. I’m looking into getting an apartment and it takes time but I’m time full every day for this place,” he said.
When asked what message he has for others sleeping outside, Tanelli’s words were simple but heartfelt.
“Never give up because that’s the easy thing to do is give up. Just give this place a chance here or any shelter in this city. That’s all I can say.”
At the Welcome Hall Mission, CEO Sam Watts said the snow — combined with recent transit disruptions — made it harder for people to reach vital services like free groceries.
“But also for people who are vulnerable it affects their ability to get around and get from A to B to C,” he said. “Not everybody who is able to get around to their medical appointments and so on is able to do so in conjunction with the truncated schedule of public transit, and so I think that’s been a problem. The weather of course is something we expect in Montreal every year and it always adds layers of complexity to the services we provide.”
Watts said demand for food assistance continues to rise, especially among working people struggling with high costs of living.
“Well, certainly the numbers are growing. We see people who are working who now need free groceries because they struggle to make ends meet. That’s just a reality right now in Montreal. The problem isn’t so much hunger — it’s poverty and so if we can elevate people out of poverty we’ll hopefully see fewer people coming to get free groceries in the future. But the challenge of course as we see when we look around us is costs are going up and more people are falling into difficulty.”
By noon Thursday, the Welcome Hall Mission had already served 547 people at its St-Henri location and 367 in Montreal North.
Watts said while his organization can handle more people if needed, the ultimate goal is to help individuals reach independence.
“The challenge is that we love to see people who come to us and say we don’t need your services anymore. That to us is a real positive. But in the meantime, it’s really validating to know that we’re in a position where we can actually help,” he said. “We just want our help to be temporary and not permanent. We want it to lead towards solutions and not simply be a patch.”
For Alain Doiron, who has volunteered at the Welcome Hall Mission for five years, the growing demand is impossible to ignore.
“We have lineups in the morning when I first get here, which is always. It’s a good thing. I mean, it keeps us busy, but we’d rather see fewer people outdoors early in the morning,” he said.
Doiron said many clients travel long distances — often on foot or by public transit — just to get food.
“People who come here are very vulnerable and oftentimes do not have transportation. And so they rely on either good old walking to get here or the buses or the metro, and some of them are coming from very long distances. We have a lot of elderly people who may be taking up to two hours to get here just for their food every week or every two weeks, so it’s quite the journey. And I think we have a lot of people who are not having access to food and quality food, so we developed a good rapport with this clientele,” he said.
Doiron said he hopes more Montrealers step up to help.
“We really need the support from the city 100 per cent every day of the week and that sadly enough, the demand is increasing and we have to realize that and just embrace our community. And if people want to volunteer, come on. You know we need you.”
As snow blankets the city and temperatures dip, Montreal’s community organizations continue to offer warmth — both physical and emotional — to those who need it most.
For people like Tanelli, that compassion means survival. For Hughes, Watts and volunteers like Doiron, it’s a mission they refuse to abandon.
“Homelessness is 24/7, 365,” Hughes said. “We’ll be here as long as there’s homelessness to make sure people are safe, but also to give them a chance to get out and into the kinds of lives that they wish and the kinds of lives that we have — which are in the safety of our own homes.”
