Chez Doris will reopen their day shelter on weekends, starting June 15, after being closed for the past 10 months.
The organization supports vulnerable and homeless women, and the shelter is located on Chomedey Street in downtown Montreal.
According to a press release, with the housing crisis reaching critical numbers, the amount of people in vulnerable housing situations has grown rapidly.
“Shelters throughout the province are at full capacity, highlighting the precarity of the situation,” reads the press release. “The weekend reopening of the Chez Doris day shelter not only reaffirms the commitment to their clientele, but it also underscores their determination to continue offering these essentials services as quickly as possible, to meet the ever-growing need.”
Diane Pilote is the executive director of Chez Doris and said that the relaunch of weekend services is important because the shelter can help people seven days a week.
“Thanks to the addition of these weekend slots, we’ll be able to ensure the continuity of support we already offer across our five sites: our day shelter, our night shelter and our community centre, which offer health and social services; and our two residences,” she said.
During their hiatus from weekends, Chez Doris recruited and trained several new support staff members, who will be working at the day shelter.
“We remain dedicated to our mission of ensuring the well-being of vulnerable women whose situation has deteriorated significantly as a result of both the local housing crisis and the rise of homelessness across Montreal,” added Pilote.