There are over 3,000 homeless living in Montreal’s streets, parks, and subway stations. With the majority of them being men, we observe that 10% of them are Aboriginals, 10% are immigrants and 6% are veterans.
Though there are already several temporary housing centers in Montreal, space and resources are lacking for the homeless, and hundreds of people continue to sleep outdoors, in summer as much as in winter. The larger part of these individuals constantly go hungry and are unable to depend on clean, seasonal clothing suited to our weather.
Several actions can be undertaken to help the homeless, generally comprised of two major categories:
- Emergency and support services. These may consist of
a) Opening temporary housing centers providing clean beds, toilets (with showers), nutritious meals and clean clothes…
b) Open a restaurant/cafeteria providing free meals for transients
c) Provide a shuttle to transport transients to housing centers
d) Provide transients with meals and clothing
- Preventive services
As for us, we wish to intervene through emergency services by feeding and clothing Montreal’s homeless.