An Indigenous homeless shelter has purchased two buildings on Sherbrooke Street and is expected to move there at the end of 2027.
The Project Authentic Quebecois (PAQ) currently operates a resource of about fifty places near the intersection of Saint-Dominique and Ontario, in the center of the city. However, it is installed in a private building, the former Arts Hotel, whose owner can renew or break the lease at will.
“This facility, located nearby, will continue to combat homelessness in the Milton Park area, providing emergency accommodation for up to 50 Indigenous men and women, as well as 24-hour intervention services,” announced Stacey Boucher Anthony, General Manager. For Projects. Indigenous people of Quebec. This shelter accepts all homeless indigenous people, including drunk people.
The acquisition and transfer project has support from Ottawa ($7.7 million), Quebec ($6.5 million), in addition to Makevik ($650,000), which represents Inuit interests. In addition to Nunavik’s 14 villages, “we have another community here,” said Joey Partridge, of Makevik.
The planned opening date for the shelter, which will be located at 65 Sherbrooke Street West, is set for December 2027, M noted.I Boucher Anthony, citing the complexity of integrating buildings dating back two centuries. PAQ said it hopes to speed up work and obtain permits, bringing the opening date several months closer. Meanwhile, the Art Refuge Hotel remains at the mercy of the building owner.
“And we’re working on that. We don’t want there to be any interruption in service,” said Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafreniere. “Right now, we’re in a situation where it’s all dependent on whether someone wants to rent or not. We cannot continue like this. »
Mayor Plante emphasized that the City of Montreal is doing what is necessary to inform and reassure neighbors of this future shelter. “What I’m hearing, from the district council or the city council, is that it doesn’t make sense to have people living on the street, and it doesn’t make sense to have people who end up sleeping under a tarp or overdosing in an alley. That’s what I’m hearing,” she said. »
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