Montreal wants day services moved from St-Henri shelter before school year starts

Article content

Facing rising concerns from residents, the city of Montreal has requested the day services offered to the unhoused at the Maison Benoît Labre in St-Henri be relocated ahead of the school year.

At a city council meeting on Monday, Sud-Ouest borough mayor Benoit Dorais said he has asked Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant about moving the services before the school year starts.

Article content

“What I asked minister Carmant is to move the services associated with the day centre (…) to another location that would be more suitable,” Dorais told a resident who raised concerns about the issue.

“Because it’s really what’s associated with the day centre that’s creating the most issues with residents … and making it much more difficult than before,” Dorais added.

Maison Benoît Labre is a safe drug-consumption site and transition housing centre in St-Henri. In addition to 36 studio apartments for people who are transitioning out of homelessness, it also hosts a drop-in day centre for the unhoused in the neighbourhood.

The centre faced opposition from residents before reopening in its new location in April next to an elementary school. Neighbours have since voiced concerns over an increase in visible drug use and erratic behaviour in the area.

On Monday, Dorais said the city has put several measures in place to try to curb the issue, including a cleanliness brigade to pick up needles and a team dedicated to cohabitation in the area.

The city has also worked closely with its mobile intervention team in the neighbourhood, he added.

Article content

Article content

“All these measures should have worked, but having said that, unfortunately there’s a lot of incivility, and social cohabitation is much more difficult,” Dorais said.

Dorais said the city plans to help the province find a new location as quickly as possible. Carmant’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

In a statement published Tuesday morning, the centre said it has been helping the neighbourhood’s most vulnerable residents for 75 years, “providing services that are essential in a context where homelessness and mental health needs are being felt in many large cities.”

The centre said it has implemented several measures in recent months to “limit the effects on the neighbourhood” in collaboration with municipal and provincial health departments, as well as the Montreal police.

“We continue to ask for the full co-operation of all our partners, including the city of Montreal, so that we can continue to provide essential life-saving services,” it added.

Article content

Article content