St. Michael’s Mission to end overnight services amid growing homelessness crisis in Montreal

Montrealers seeking overnight shelter will soon be left with fewer options as of next week.

St. Michael’s Mission in downtown Montreal will be ending its overnight services on March 31 as part of its original plan laid out with the regional health authority.

“Our services this year to offer an haute chaleur are part of a regular funding project with the CIUSSS, where we arrange for a certain period of funding to be able to offer this emergency service on top of our regular services. So, as per the contract, that arrangement ends on the 31st of March. Unfortunately, our organization isn’t in a position where we can consider other avenues of prolonging that service for the moment. But we’re grateful that we had the opportunity to do that this year,” said Andrew Marrocco, the Executive Director of St. Michael’s Mission.

While the shelter’s numbers were similar to those of the previous year, they say there has been an increase in demand in their area this winter due to people seeking refuge in nearby metro stations. They have had to turn away more people this year.

“Throughout the winter, the needs in this area of the city are far beyond our capacity. There are some evenings when we’ve regularly seen more than 50 people being refused, and there are some nights when it’s come close to 100 people being refused because we didn’t have enough space to welcome them into our service,” explained Marrocco.

Now, the shelter is calling on the Quebec government to take action.

They say the entire sector requires support and investment at all levels, including emergency shelters, temporary accommodations, assisted living spaces, and permanent housing.

Marrocco says that it is clear in the public eye and among the involved parties that the current situation has reached a point where it requires a response, and because it is a systemic crisis, the response must come at the level of the system itself.

They add that better coordination within the sector is needed, as well as a stronger network of community organizations and health services that work together smoothly to properly address social issues like homelessness, drug addiction, mental health problems and food insecurity.

“Clearly, we see that the community organizations currently involved don’t have the capacity to respond to the issues properly. Clearly, this is spilling over into the public space. We’re seeing, with the actions of the STM recently, the point that it’s reached where it’s beyond the tolerance levels of other entities involved in the public space and who are dealing with these issues as well. So, it’s clear that there has to be a concerted effort at all levels, especially from the branches of government responsible for responding to the homelessness crisis, issues of mental health, and drug consumption, to provide the community organizations that already exist with the resources they need to handle the demand they’re facing, as well as to develop additional services to fill the holes in the system and to coordinate that network of services more effectively,” said Marrocco.

The shelter currently offers 12 beds and seating for up to 48 people, accommodating 60 people every night.

They say they are not in a position to extend overnight services, regardless of funding, because of limited administration and supervisory staff, and insufficient space to support permanent overnight operations.

“When it comes to our organization, the actual capacity for our administration, for the supervisors who are actually managing our services, we are too thin, and we don’t have the facilities to run that kind of project on a long-term basis. We need to come back to our regular daytime services and make sure that the integrity of our physical facilities is adequate,” said Marrocco.

This is affecting many.

“Now, everybody’s all mixed up in what to do, where to go, and how they’re going to manage. That’s what we’re talking about now,” said Eric, a shelter guest at St. Michael’s Mission.

“I hope this stays open as of now. That’s what we all would like,” he added.

Morroco explains that the shelter needs to focus on repairing physical damages, providing staff relief, and receiving support not only for itself but also for the broader sector, which has been overwhelmed, in order to expand its role and services effectively in the future.

“We also need the rest of the sector to receive support as well, because one of the reasons that we’ve been so overwhelmed is that the rest of the sector has also been overwhelmed. So, for us to be able to do our part and grow our role, we also need the rest of the sector to be given that opportunity as well,” he said.

They’re hoping Quebec’s latest budget will also address the ongoing homeless crisis. 

“Without any doubt, we’d really like to see that the response in the budget is proportional to the level of need that we’re seeing now. At the same time, we’re also ready to look at that and see where there needs to be even more investment, even more effort. We’d also like to see exactly what is intended with the investment that’s going to be proposed, if it is proposed,” said Marrocco.

“Right now, it’s an important moment for our society, as there’s generally a lot of change happening in terms of our internal politics and international relations. We have to make decisions about what our priorities are as a society—whether or not we’re going to respond with inclusion, whether we’re going to respond to the needs of our vulnerable population, or whether or not we’re going to have to be ready to face more social exclusion and the consequences that follow, which will be increased tensions, increased violence, increased drug consumption in public spaces, and more difficult social realities for everyone.”