Permanent housing centre for Indigenous people experiencing homelessness opens in Montreal

A new permanent housing center for Indigenous Peoples experiencing homelessness has opened in Montreal.

Maison Akhwà:tsire is located in downtown Montreal, near the CHUM and Projets Autochtones du Québec’s (PAQ) shelter, which created the centre with the help of the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

“Maison Akhwà:tsire, which means ‘my family home,’ will provide a beautiful space with an interior design created by the talented Innu designer Julia Hervieux,” said Heather Johnston, executive director of PAQ.

The centre will be providing 18 rooms that can accommodate up to 22 Indigenous men and women experiencing chronic homelessness in the city, including housing units that are accessible to those with reduced mobility.

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“Indigenous people face many challenges in accessing safe and affordable housing, which has resulted in high rates of homelessness,” says federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller. “That’s why projects like Maison Akhwà:tsire are so important: they provide decent, permanent and culturally safe housing to those in need.”

Culturally adapted psychosocial support will be provided 24 hours a day by experienced workers, allowing the residents to live semi-independently after a long period of homelessness.

Maison Akhwà:tsire will also provide clinical and psychological care on site, including medical and nursing care, mental health support and resources, and regular visits from the Elder of PAQ’s community.

The Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) will provide rent supplements to residents who will then pay 25 per cent of their income for housing.

“There is no miracle or single solution to homelessness,” says Ian Lafrenière, Quebec Minister responsible for First Nations and Inuit Relations. “We need to act on the front line, but also on second and third stage solutions to offer opportunities to vulnerable clients to get off the streets.”