24 overnight shelter beds to be made permanently available to homeless women
MONTREAL, Sept. 15, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Chez Doris inaugurates this morning its new night shelter for vulnerable and homeless women on Chomedey Street in Montreal. With this new facility, Chez Doris continues to respond to the growing needs of vulnerable women and becomes one of the most diversified organizations in Quebec in terms of services offered, housing options, locations and women served. The opening of the night shelter is a pivotal moment in the history of the organization, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Chez Doris' largest-ever fundraising campaign, Chez Doris, Day and Night, which ran from September 2021 to June 2022, raised more than $15 million. The funds raised allowed Chez Doris to convert a downtown rowhouse and operate a night shelter as well as open a permanent residence with 26 apartments in 2023.
Marina Boulos-Winton, Executive Director of Chez Doris, says the needs of the community are growing and the overnight shelter will only meet a fraction of women experiencing homelessness. "We have easily seen more than 1,600 women without a fixed address in the last two years, and we are seeing a steady increase of women in need of safe, healthy places to stay overnight as well as requests for help to find housing. Our new shelter will allow us to reach vulnerable women where they are, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," says Marina Boulos-Winton. This past year, Chez Doris served over 1,500 women and a total of 41,539 meals.
Benoit Dorais, the City of Montreal's Executive committee vice-chair, Responsible for housing, real estate strategy and legal affairs, attended the press conference. "I would like to congratulate and thank the Chez Doris Women's Shelter Foundation, donors, volunteers and staff. In a time of increasing homelessness, Chez Doris provides essential assistance to women in need. The Foundation was able to convert, renovate and expand the rowhouse it had acquired, thanks in part to $1.88 million in financial assistance from the City of Montreal. This result is the fruit of close collaboration between the City and the organizations that work with people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. By offering women shelter as well as housing solutions, Chez Doris will be able to be the first link for marginalized women and enable women to follow a trajectory leading to housing and social reintegration," mentioned M. Dorais.
Beginning on September 19, the shelter will be able to accommodate 24 women per night for a total of 8,760 individual overnight stays per year. The women will benefit from a safe and welcoming environment where their pets will be accepted. They will also have access to a locker room, showers, laundry facilities, a kitchenette, and a lounge, as well as the services of the day centre located across the street. Built amid a public health crisis, the beds were designed to minimize proximity between residents and provide them with greater privacy. Located across the street from its day shelter, just off Cabot Square, the overnight shelter is named in honour of the late Elspeth McConnell, philanthropist, and founder of Doggone Foundation, one of the campaign's major donors.
"We are honoured to contribute to meeting the needs of vulnerable women, and to support Chez Doris' mission. This new shelter will provide them with a safe space and will hopefully allow them to one day successfully integrate into society," says Paul Marchand, Executive Director and President of the Doggone Foundation.
To make a donation: https://www.chezdoris.org/impliquez-vous/donnez
Chez Doris offers services and programs to provide for women's most basic and immediate needs related to coping with homelessness, poverty, mental illness and/or addictions. It is the only women's day shelter in Montréal open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Services include breakfast, lunch, and supper; access to showers, hygienic products, and a clothing depot; respite beds; telephone information and referral assistance; a financial management program; an Inuit assistance program; a housing assistance program; health and mental health services; legal and tax filing services; as well as educational and socio-recreational integration programs.
SOURCE Chez Doris
Media Requests: Camille Benoit, Conseillère, Exponentiel Conseil, 514-952-4714 or [email protected]
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