New mobile health clinic hopes to bridge gap in services for unhoused Montrealers

A new mobile health clinic will soon be doing the rounds in Montreal, targeting areas frequented by people experiencing homelessness.

“We have an obvious need to fill in terms of bringing direct health services, psychosocial services, housing services to people living in the street and organizations where there aren’t these services,” said James Hughes, president and CEO of the Old Brewery Mission.

It’s a new initiative by Telus Health in partnership with The Old Brewery Mission and Accueil Bonneau and with the participation of McGill University’s Ingram School of Nursing and the Mobile Legal Clinic.

The idea is to bring services directly to those who need them.

“This is designed to go where homeless people are,” Hughes said.

While estimates indicate there are 4,000 unhoused Montrealers, Hughes believes the actual number is much higher — as much as three times higher.

And while the Old Brewery Mission already offers a variety of services onsite, not everyone is eligible or comfortable getting help at a shelter.

“Because of medical conditions, because of addictions, because of pets, because of other types of behaviours, it’s tough for them to come into facilities so they stay outside,” Hughes explained.

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It’s also harder for those people to get back into housing.

In addition to medical services such as wound care, checkups, vaccinations and sexual health, the mobile unit will offer help with things like getting identification cards, health cards and preparing taxes.

“That’s kind of the first step into getting an apartment,” said Martin Bélanger, managing director at Telus Health.

“You need some basic paperwork and that normally involves them going to Services Québec and sometimes there’s a gap there.”

Hughes added that preparing taxes can be vital in terms of securing housing by determining eligibility for rent supplements.

Telus is hoping to reach 50,000 Canadians this year, with similar initiatives across the country.

Montreal’s mobile clinic will follow a specific route and will be on the road from Monday to Friday year-round so that clients become familiar with it and know when and where to find it.

Hughes said he was excited about expanding not only the mission’s services but the type of people they’ll now be able to reach.

“The key change is to bring new hope to people who in many cases have given up hope that they’ll ever get housing.”

— with files from Global News’ Tim Sargeant