West Island shelter adding 22 temporary beds amid increased demand for housing

Ricochet shelter in Montreal's West Island.

Nearly a dozen new shelter beds are being opened in Montreal’s West Island in response to rising demand from people in need of housing.

Ricochet, the area’s only emergency shelter, announced Thursday it is adding 22 temporary beds, for a total of 102, as colder weather arrives and more people are looking to stay warm.

The shelter, which provides overnight shelter and housing support to people experiencing homelessness, says it has been operating at 106 per cent capacity since September and turning away an average of 260 people each week due to lack of space. At the peak, 350 people were turned away last week.

The temporary beds will be added gradually by the end of the year until March 31 and will offer the same services and support to all current residents.

“We have been at full capacity for months, and the need continues to rise,” said executive director Tania Charron in a news release.

“Adding temporary beds is an essential humanitarian response to winter conditions, but it does not replace long-term solutions. Our focus remains on stabilizing our shelter at 48 permanent emergency beds and developing 60 units of affordable housing to provide lasting support for people experiencing residential instability.”

The additional beds are being funded by the CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal through the federal Reaching Home program.

Ricochet currently rents its space but is in the process of purchasing the building. The non-profit says owning the property would allow it to invest more in programs and services for the community rather than rent payments.

After winning the Nov. 2 election, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who was officially sworn in as mayor of Montreal on Thursday, said tackling the homelessness crisis in the city was going to be her top priority.

On the campaign trail, she made a number of promises on the issue, including tripling the city’s budget to $30 million per year to fight homelessness and investing more money for community organizations that support vulnerable people.