Curfews in Montreal: Shelters are overflowing

Curfew is hurting the habits of the homeless who are in a hurry to seek shelter for the night. Just before 8pm, several emergency accommodation centers were packed on Saturday, while others feared the place would run out.

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“How can we enforce a curfew if there is no place to go?” Launched the Director of Services for the Saint-Laurent Campus of the Old Brewery Mission, Emily Fortier.

Efforts are being made to optimize resources, she said.

As for the Cap-Care temporary accommodation center, in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Mysonnev borough, we were already at full capacity early Saturday evening. This is the first time so many people are on the waiting list.

At 6 p.m., 25 people were on the list, along with 187 beds already designated. Nearby, in Cop-Saint-Barnabas, 20 women and 30 men filled all available space in the shelter.

The Laval emergency shelter was also filled, not to mention the number of dormitories.

Halte du Coin and Aubrey de la Rive-sud, in the compilation of Longueil, indicated that “it is likely to be completed tonight.”

At the Ub Berge du Cour Le Tournament, five beds out of 10. The shelter changed its curfew to 8 p.m., but it was midnight in previous months.

At 8:30 pm, the Hotel Place DuPontis in Rue Saint-Catherine, which had recently been converted into a shelter by Mission Bon Aquile, was still booking lodgers overnight, accommodating up to 300 people each evening.

“In general, there is often a lack of space for people who need special services. We need to look at how the resources work and we can not force them to enter at 2am, ”said Miley Fortier.

“SPVM assures us that they will be patient, but only after that [les policiers] Should appeal to everyone. People facing homelessness can be questioned and they can clarify the situation, ”she said, hoping the agents would understand.

Shuttles operate from Saturday to Sunday to transport homeless people to other sources, if the shelters are only available elsewhere.

Customers staying at Place DuPont can take shuttles to ship to supervised injection centers, even overnight, Ms. Fortier assures.

Bertin Babinou, who met just before 8pm, explained that he had to improve a new routine and change his habits to be responsible for finding the roof.

“He wants us to go for a curfew before 8 o’clock in the morning. I do not know what to do next. It takes me beer before bed, I do not know what I ‘m going to do there,” said the man, who has been on the street for 2 months. He said.