Montreal’s Chez Doris women’s shelter once again offering full range of services

2024 was a year of renewal for Chez Doris, a Montreal non-profit organization supporting vulnerable and unhoused women.

After scaling back services in September 2023 due to a staffing shortage, this past June, they reopened the day centre for weekend services and now they are once again able to offer frontline services 24/7 to women in need.

“We are so proud because our team is stable, our customers are happy. They are so calm. It’s a wonderful home,” said Diane Pilote, the executive director of Chez Doris.

“At the end of 2024, we served 40,000 meals. So it’s an increase, an important increase even if last year, we were a little bit closed. And since our reopening in the evening, for the dinner, we already have served more than a thousand dinners.”

Since July 2024, the shelter has welcomed 40 new women each month, in addition to the 150 they were already helping.

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“A warm place to stay during the day, fun activities, distraction that make them kind of forget like you know the hardship they are going through, warm meals, a smile, friendship, that’s something they cannot really find in the street. We are really proud to be offering that,” said Gladys Mutavu, the team lead at Chez Doris.

A significant part of the year was the purchase of the Fulford residence, a historic downtown building, which they open to in time for their 50th anniversary in 2027. Looking ahead to 2025, the team here hopes to secure the remaining half of their financing goal of 8 million dollars.

“It’s a place where the people will come for a certain period of time. For the transitioning period. So three months to two years. So we hope we’ll be able to do that very fast to be sure that, again, we will be able to take care of our women rapidly,” said Pilote.

Mutavu adding, “Just seeing the women coming to us like completely broken and seeing at the end of like, you know the help that we provide like her, see her thriving, and getting proper housing, regain dignity, get a job. That makes us really proud because it shows the impact we have on the ladies.”  

Pilote encourages Montrealers to contribute by donating, volunteering, or bringing warm clothing to the shelter on Chomedey Street to help continue their mission.

“Money, clothes, time. We need all of that.”