Advocates hope to keep warming tent downtown open past May 1 deadline
Posted April 27, 2021 3:34 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL (CityNews) – Advocates are pleading with the city to keep this warming tent at Cabot Square in downtown Montreal from closing.
They say there’s currently nothing else in place to fulfill the role it plays in serving the city’s homeless community and that it’s still desperately needed.
“I was really hoping when I had the conversation with the mayor last week that something would happen but the only conversation that’s been promised is next week, which is too late,” Nakuset, the director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, told CityNews.
The tent as been in place since February and was named in honour of Raphael Andre, a homeless Innu man who froze to death in January near a homeless shelter on Park Ave, which had been temporarily closed during nights due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s a beautiful place, they help us with food, blankets,” Marty Erais, a client, told CityNews. “We had people sleeping inside before. But now enough funds to help again. We need more funds.”
“I’m very grateful to have the initiative and I am very grateful for the city to allow us to use the space and the tent at Cabot Square. But it’s clear that the need Is greater than that and knowing the statistic that’s we’ve already sent the city the if they don’t know anything then the ball is in their court,” Nakuset said.
The tent is slated to close on May 1. According to the organizers, since February, more than 4,500 people in need have used the services. Nearly 1,230 people have been able to sleep in the tent at night.
“It’s just a different vibe when you walk in and that sort of grew after day after day of always being welcome and always trying to find solutions to whatever it is that ailing them,” Nakuset added.
“We offer them a place to stay for the night, we feed them. They get something to drink hot meals, snacks, we make sure they’re in safety and we put a smile on people’s face and that’s what’s really important,” Ronny Laporte, who handles security, told CityNews.
“We have to get the city to be on board,” Nakuset pleaded. “We need them to also throw in some money, to throw in the confidence that we can do this. And to also brainstorm as to who is going to be in charge of this tent. There are a lot of conversations that need to happen.”
Organizers are hoping for an extension of a couple of weeks to give them time to find another place to continue their work. They say they have a building in the area they believe would be perfect, but they are still waiting to hear from the city to start discussions.
