Chez Doris opens new social rooming house for vulnerable women in Montreal

For one of the 11 women who will be moving into a new, permanent rooming house in Montreal's Ville-Marie borough on July 2, her private room represents peace, at last.

Alexandra Delgado, the co-ordinator responsible for reintegration and housing support at Chez Doris, said the 62-year-old woman told her she had been homeless on and off for two decades.

"The first thing she told me is, 'I'm tired. I want to be in a space where I can trust those around me. I just want to be at peace,'" Delgado said. 

Chez Doris, which already operates a day shelter and overnight shelter for women in Montreal, as well as a health and social services centre, will eventually welcome a total of 20 women to the Bash Shetty Residence, named for its main donor.

"It will remove 20 women out of homelessness that you could be seeing walking around in the west end of the city," said Marina Boulos-Winton, the agency's executive director, at the inauguration of the new residence Tuesday.

The residence is made up of six apartment buildings, each one with shared common areas and three to five private bedrooms.

Boulos-Winton said each tenant will be expected to pay up to 25 per cent of her annual income toward the $858 monthly rent. Provincial subsidies will cover the balance. The annual lease is renewable, and tenants can stay as long their income doesn't surpass $32,500 a year.

"It means that they could eventually maybe even have a job, let's say in retail or elsewhere in the restaurant business, and still continue to live here," said Boulos-Winton.

The residence is open to any woman who is a permanent resident or Canadian citizen. Children are not permitted.

There will be an overnight security guard, and two psychosocial support workers will help tenants develop life skills and adapt to their new living situation. 

Boulos-Winton said she hopes the residence will alleviate pressure on the temporary shelter system, which she says has been feeling the stress of a growing number of people in precarious living situations since the start of the pandemic. 

Before the pandemic, 20 per cent of Chez Doris's clientele experienced homelessness. Today, that percentage has tripled. More than a third of the 1,500 women who used the agency's services last year found themselves homeless for the first time, Boulos-Winton said.

"It's systemic of the price of rent. It's systemic of other situations like, you know, domestic abuse. It's systemic of a lack of mental health services," she said.

Projet Montréal Coun. Josefina Blanco, the executive committee member responsible for dealing with homelessness and social inclusion, says she knows women's shelters are operating at full capacity. She said the city is working toward adding 1,200 new social housing units.