More than 200 beds left vacant in Montreal despite homelessness crisis

Montreal city officials say more sites are needed for 24/7 warming shelters next year.

Despite freezing temperatures and an overflowing need for help with its homeless population, neither the City of Montreal nor its health authorities have confirmed any plans to use the more than 200 beds left vacant at a YMCA in the city.

Noovo Info reported last week that hundreds of beds had been left vacant at a YMCA in Montreal’s west end before the holidays, after a program for asylum seekers was cancelled.

Since Jan. 12, the YMCA, in collaboration with the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CCOMTL), says it has been using 48 of the free beds to welcome homeless individuals who were hospitalized or who visited an emergency room.

That leaves approximately 250 places still available, according to what Noovo Info was able to corroborate on the ground.

“This innovative pilot project, in collaboration with the CCOMTL, responds to urgent needs in the community and aims to reduce the likelihood of people who visit hospitals from returning to homelessness,” said Flavie Côté, director of communications and outreach at the YMCA. “The goal is to have a significant impact on their recovery and reduce the need to return to the emergency room multiple times.”

The City of Montreal, which instilled emergency measures for homelessness in early December, says it was not informed of the 250 free beds.

This, despite Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada publicly calling for beds, “not chairs,” in shelters and warming centres.

According to opposition party Projet Montréal, those in charge need to start communicating more efficiently.

“It’s unfortunate that we can’t have better communication to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Ericka Alneus, Projet Montréal leader. “I don’t think it’s a question of bad faith. It shows how complex the issue is.“

‘Unacceptable’

Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, Québec solidaire (QS) critic for homelessness, is calling the situation in Montreal ”unacceptable."

“People are cold. They don’t want to spend the winter outside, but there’s no place for them,” he said. “To hear that we don’t have an answer when there are beds available, I find that unacceptable.”

He points out that Montreal is working “hard” to improve the situation, but the city needs more resources.

He says he is asking the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government to “take immediate action.”

“We heard the coroner tell us that 108 homeless people died last year,” he said. “As elected officials, we have a duty to do everything in our power to reduce that number. We should be aiming for zero. It makes no sense that in Quebec, in 2025, 2026, there are still citizens dying of cold on the streets.”

When questioned by Noovo Info, the office of Health Minister Sonia Bélanger responded that responsibility for the situation rests with the local institutions.

“In general, it is important that there be sufficient resources to allow for optimal use of beds, particularly during the winter,” it said.

Local health authorities say they did not alert city officials about the vacant beds, despite the situation’s urgency, because “the choice of regional projects and their funding are under the leadership of the CIUSSS Centre-Sud.”