Women’s shelter in Montreal offers overnight stays

A day shelter in downtown Montreal says homeless women have had a particularly hard time during this pandemic prompting it, for the first time, to offer overnight accommodation during the harsh winter months between December and April. Chez Doris offers services and programs for women coping with homelessness, poverty, mental illness and/or addictions. Many of them are Indigenous women originally from the northern regions. 

Women have been able to go to Chez Doris for meals, access to showers, hygienic products, clothing as well as referral assistance and help with finances, housing, legal and taxes and many other services.

Many of Chez Doris’ clients are Inuit women and the shelter occasionally holds a traditional meal for them. (Chez Doris)

More overdoses, more violence during pandemic

Counsellors have noted a marked increase in drug overdoses and violence towards women, especially Indigenous women during this pandemic. Between March 17 and October 31, 2020 they helped a record 637 homeless women. These factors have prompted them to expand their services.

As of today, the shelter will offer 18 overnight beds and 16 seated resting places. This has been made possible with some funding from Makivik Corporation which represents Quebec’s northern Inuit people as well as a federal government program called Reaching Home.

Chez Doris projects that it will serve more than 1,000 homeless women in 2020-21 and serve more than 30,000 meals.

This is but one shelter among many in Canada which are trying to expand services to meet the increasing needs of women during this pandemic. Women’s shelters across Canada report that pandemic lockdowns have prevented women from leaving their abusers and that there has been an increase in the severity of violence they have experienced. 

In preparation for the cold winter, volunteers collect and sort mittens to later distribute to clients. (Chez Doris)