Plante working to reopen Open Door 24/7 following death of homeless man

MONTREAL – Montreal’s mayor says she is working to get a local shelter back to being open around the clock following the death of a homeless man.

Over the weekend, Raphael Andre was found dead in a public bathroom.

READ MORE: Homeless advocates urging gov’t for support after man outside past curfew dies

He was forced out on the street after curfew because the Open Door shelter–which was originally approved to be open 24 hours–closed and he had nowhere to go.

.@Val_Plante says she needed to make this statement following the death of Raphael Andre over the weekend. She says the are nights were shelters are overflowed, sometimes 95% of beds in the city are taken.

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) January 19, 2021

Andre was a frequent client of the Open Door shelter in Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood.

The shelter recently reopened after being closed for three weeks for plumbing issues and a COVID-19 outbreak.

RELATED: Opposition party calls for changes to Quebec curfew after homeless people ticketed

In December the shelter started opening 24/7, an initiative greenlit by the city for the winter period. But under public health rules, when Quebec’s 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew started, it had to start closing at 9:30 p.m.

Plante says the curfew is difficult for the homeless population and is calling on the Quebec government to make an exemption to the population.

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) January 19, 2021

Mayor Valerie Plante said Andre’s death was tragic and the provincial curfew presents challenges specifically for the city’s homeless population.

Plante said she is working to get the Open Door shelter back to being open 24/7.

WATCH: Mayor Plante speaks about the homeless population and Quebec’s COVID-19 curfew

She is calling on the province to make an exemption for homeless people, allowing shelters to be open later.

She also said there have been nights where 95 per cent of the beds at Montreal homeless shelters are taken up.

Homeless advocates have been calling for more support from the provincial government.

In recent weeks, the executive director of the Native Women’s shelter has been calling on the province to send in the army to set up warming centres in Montreal.

“If you send in the army, it means they could pitch these warming tents during the curfew. They would also bring their own personnel. We don’t have any staff,” said Nakuset in a previous interview, adding COVID-19 has put some of their staff out of commission.