Montreal homeless shelters brace for cold snap as freezing temperatures move in on city

Rosaire Blackburn has been staying at the Old Brewery Mission in downtown Montreal for a month while on the waiting list for an apartment.

Otherwise, he'd be out in the cold — something he knows all too well.

"I was in Winnipeg, where it usually gets down to –40 sleeping in bus shelters," he said.

With the mercury dropping this weekend, shelters across the city are preparing for a surge of people seeking warmth. But with most beds already full, finding space to sleep isn't easy.

When the Old Brewery Mission warming centre fills up, the shelter's cafeteria next door houses the overflow.

"We can always arrange for an extra place, redirect people from one resource to another one," said mission spokesperson Marie-Pier Therrien.

"We work together, and we are always aware if there's a spot available. So we can move someone there."

Environment Canada is forecasting sub-zero temperatures all week, with the mercury dropping down to –22 on Friday and –19 on Saturday. Overnight Friday to Saturday, it could get as low as –26, the agency says.

The city says in a statement that two temporary warming sites will also be opened in the Ville-Marie and Plateau-Mont-Royal boroughs, open overnight from Thursday evening until Sunday.

The warming sites will be available from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. to accommodate homeless people in the event of overflow in shelters.

The city's mobile intervention team, known as the Équipe mobile de médiation et d'intervention sociale (EMMIS), and the police service will be on high alert, encouraging people to take advantage of the available services.

Currently there are 1,600 beds available and warming centres across the city — the highest number of available space in the city's history, the statement says.

While this is a positive step in the right direction, advocates like Sam Watts say it is yet another sign that permanent solutions are needed.

"We actually need to reform the system so that instead of having people being cared for in the context of homelessness, how about we just provide apartments for everybody," said Watts, CEO and executive director of Welcome Hall Mission.

"It's not impossible to do."

Montreal homeless organizations are asking the three levels of government for more investment in lasting change — pushing for more resources and social housing to get people into permanent homes.

"Let's stop this notion of, every time the winter comes along, we try to increase the number of spaces available on an emergency basis and instead focus our energy and effort 365 days a year around helping get people back into housing quickly," said Watts.

"Homelessness is an all-of-government and all-levels-of-government problem," he added. "It's everyone."