City of Montreal to build dozens of modular housing units to combat homelessness crisis
CTV
The City of Montreal is adding a new measure to its efforts to combat the growing homelessness crisis. A fleet of 60 modular housing units is expected to be ready in March 2025, offering vulnerable Montrealers a way back into housing.
The City of Montreal is adding a new measure to its efforts to combat the growing homelessness crisis. A fleet of 60 modular housing units is expected to be ready in March 2025, offering vulnerable Montrealers a way back into housing.
"With the crisis that we have, it's really important to innovate and to try to find new answers and new responses," said Robert Beaudry, the Montreal city councilor responsible for homelessness. "It's in addition to all the tools we have already developed."
The modular homes will resemble the temporary shelters often used on construction sites and will feature single rooms, rooms for couples, and rooms adapted for people with reduced mobility. The city's plan is to build two developments each with 30 units, common areas, and washroom facilities.
"It's a quick response, but it's a temporary response," said Beaudry, who expects people will live in the units for one or two years while they wait for permanent social housing. "It's for the population actually who is in the shelter or an encampment, but they need housing and they are ready to do that."
"It's really useful for people who want to help themselves," said Sebastien Juneau, who himself was homeless one month ago and now lives in temporary housing at the Old Brewery Mission. "There are some people who don't want to help themselves, this is their choices, but if you use it as a place to get recovery, it's a really good thing."
Those working in the homelessness sector have been advocating for more temporary housing like this for years.
"We need spaces that are safe and we need spaces that are supported by trained and capable staff," said the Old Brewery Mission's executive director, James Hughes, who was consulted on the project before it was announced.
