Nazareth Community opens their fourth house in Montreal
Posted September 28, 2022 9:52 am.
Last Updated September 28, 2022 6:36 pm.
Nazareth Community just opened their fourth house in Montreal.
It is a non-profit that provides housing with support for individuals who struggle with mental-health issues, homelessness and addictions.
As the mercury drops, Montreal now has a new space for the city’s most vulnerable.
“Poverty is heartbreaking and it’s not for the faint of heart. We have people who have an expendable income of $5 a week,” said Sheila Woodhouse, the executive director of the Nazareth Community in Montreal.
“The needs are not going away, especially post-COVID. There has been a real gender bias. There are more women on the streets. There’s more evidence of domestic abuse. There’s higher rates of inflations. It’s very challenging in a family with two income earner to get by in a big city like Montreal. It’s much more challenging if you have no support, if you have a mental-health issue and if you have no funds.”
Approximately 4,000 people are experiencing homelessness in Montreal.
Woodhouse says approximately one in four people have mental-health issues.
“There’s no us and them. Our residents have been or are Gazette editors, engineers, Cirque de Soleil trapeze artists – all walks of life. Nobody decides that they’d like to be homeless and have a mental-health issue. Some of the biggest challenges we face are funding. Always funding. Fifty-six per cent of our funds come from donors like yourselves. People who are very committed to our community.”
FROM 2020: Diverse City Nazareth Community
Jennifer Willard works as a manager of client services for Nazareth Community. She says they are experiencing many of the same problems being experienced by health-care workers in this province.
“There’s a lot of turnover, there’s a lot of shortage of workers, we can feel that as well here,” said Woodhouse. “We are in hiring mode right now to help the daily functions of our organization. I think our biggest challenge right now is to have enough staff on site.
“We don’t just make changes in people’s lives, they make changes in our lives too.”
Nazareth Community. (Credit: CNW Group/Nazareth Community)
For Willard, it’s the growth of their residents that impacts her the most.
“If I have any small part of that, it’s really rewarding,” she said. “Whether it be for them entering into our organization or stabilizing with some medications or getting a health-care team. A lot of our residents, especially at Anne’s house, are back to work, they’re volunteering or they’re going to school. I’m really proud to see their accomplishments.”
Woodhouse shares her concerns for the colder weather coming up.
“Winter is much more isolating for people. We don’t see people on the streets like we do in summer time but I’d like to stress that the need is still there if even people don’t see it.”
For more and how you can get involved, visit nazarethcommunity.com
