Daniel visits the homeless shelter The Open Door on Dorchester Boulevard almost daily. An Inuit from up north, the shelter to him is more than just a place to get a free meal.
“This is our only hope,” Daniel said, fighting back tears.
The prospect of it closing terrifies him.
“What are we going to do? If they move too far I give myself less than one year,” he said.
The Open Door has operated out of a Westmount Anglican Church for the last 30 years.
When the church was sold this year, the Open Door was told it had to leave by July 31.
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The daytime shelter is unique in the city, in that unlike other shelters, it allows intoxicated people to use the facilities.
“The people sleeping on benches are people with substantial addiction issues, crack and alcohol, and people who fall through the cracks,” said David Chapman, the director of the Open Door.
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The shelter offers all sorts of support to its clientele of 150 people daily, 40 per cent of whom are Inuit.
The programs include facilitating rehab, offering medical services, and helping people find jobs.
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“It helped save me,” John Tessier said, “and I know on a daily basis I hear of people whose lives are changing.”
John Tessier is an Open Door success story.
Homeless and an addict, he turned his life around, and now works at the shelter.
He said it’s imperative they find a new location close to where they are now near Cabot Square.
“The Inuit people, they know when they come from up north, they know to meet at Cabot Square and that will not stop,” Tessier said. “Whether we are here or not the Inuit and homeless will still be in the area but they will be in the lobbies of condos and in the malls.”
The City of Westmount has offered vocal support to Chapman, but not a building.
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Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has also said he wants to help
But the area where the shelter is, is becoming gentrified, and with a limited budget, finding a new place isn’t easy.
“Once the landlord realizes you are a homeless centre, typically they are not terribly interested in renting space to you because your presence is not going to raise the value of your property. Basically we require someone who is genuinely interested in helping humanity to step up.”
Shelter officials have met with various levels of government and they are hopeful they will find a solution and a place to move to.
But July 31 is coming quickly, and they worry if they don’t find a home, they may be forced to shutdown.
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