West Island's second warming center opens in Lachine

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Ricochet (Hébergement/Homes) and its partners have opened a new warming shelter in Lachine which will be located at 800 rue Provost, in the basement of the Très-Saint-Sacrement Church. “We are very happy to open a second service near the West Island. There is an ongoing need, and finally we are able to help more people,” resource manager, François Lebrun told The Suburban.

The Lachine warming center started operating January 27 and will run until March 31, 2022, with the goal of offering 24/7 services to persons experiencing homelessness during the winter season. “This year because we were full in Pierrefonds, we received funding to open in Lachine for the winter months and with the help of donors, we will be able to open until summer in Pierrefonds,” AJOI’s director general Tania Charron said to The Suburban.

Though the announcement is a step in the right direction, Charron says that it is important to be reminded that a permanent solution has yet to be established in the West Island. “We need to stop responding by emergency, we need durable funding in order to serve the long term needs of our service recipients.”

The new center will offer accomodations for up to 24 people each day during the coldest time of the year and it will provide a warm place to sleep, eat, drink and shower. Beneficiaries will also have access to a laundry service as well as emergency clothing assistance such as winter coats, scarves, gloves and socks. They will be accompanied by professionals duly trained in intervention with vulnerable people. One worker per eight beneficiaries will be on site at all times.

The warming shelter has a clear code of conduct which mentions the regulations and behavior to adopt in and around the resource. Security cameras have been installed inside and outside. Developed by Ricochet with the collaboration of Lachine, the City of Montreal, Cumulus, Carrefour d’entraide, Travail de Rue Action Communautaire, the Red Cross, police station 8 and the West Island CIUSSS, this initiative was made possible through funding from the federal Reaching Home program and financial support from Centraide of Greater Montreal.

Since 2017, Ricochet’s mission has been to create housing solutions for people living with residential instability in the West Island of Montreal. Ricochet is an initiative of Action Jeunesse de l’Ouest-de-l’Île (AJOI), which offers outreach, street and work intervention services for at-risk youth and vulnerable people in the West Island of Montreal.