National forum on homelessness looking to tackle ongoing problem

A team from the Lawson Health Research Institute is hosting forums across the country looking to tackle the ongoing homeless problem.

On Tuesday, the team was in Montreal.

“It’s not just knowing about the total numbers, but knowing who is homeless,” Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, the lead researcher at the Lawson Health Research Institute, told Global News.

Dr. Forchuk says the number of people who can experience homelessness constantly fluctuates and it’s important to identify them so as to direct resources where they’re most needed.

“Homeless population is definitively not a one size fits all,” she said.

Montreal’s shelters are full to capacity.

Advocates say a lot more low-income housing needs to be built to house those who don’t have a fixed address and to help identify those who are at high risk of becoming unhoused and move those who are living in shelters into their own homes as quickly as possible.

“If we do that, then we will shorten the length of time that someone actually experiences homelessness and we will reduce the number of emergency services that are needed,” Sam Watts, the CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, told Global News.

Bryan Pillon agrees. He’s been living at the Old Brewery Mission since the beginning of the year. The 32-year-old moved here from the Toronto area where Pillon suffered from alcohol and drug abuse for years but he’s been sober for almost 90 days and he’s feeling optimistic about his future.

“I mean, I don’t have resources so I just pass time by just being positive and work on my recovery and things I can do to better myself as a person,” he told Global News.

Pillon is taking it one day at a time, hoping to find a new permanent place to live and make sure his days at the Old Brewery Mission are numbered.

2:02 Where can unhoused Montrealers turn to escape cold?