Media advisory – Finally! A shelter for homeless women 24/7 in the West End of Downtown Montreal

Press Release

MONTREAL, Nov. 30, 2020  – Starting tomorrow, December 1, homeless women in the western downtown sector of Montreal will finally have access to a shelter open 24 hours a day, until March 31, 2021.

Chez Doris, typically a day shelter for all women in difficulty, will open its doors day and night to meet the needs of homeless women. Its 18 beds and 16 rest chairs will be available to women overnight during the harsh winter months.

This has been a particularly difficult year for women experiencing homelessness. In addition to serving a record number of homeless women (637, between March 17 and October 31), the staff at Chez Doris have noted a clear increase in drug overdoses and violence towards homeless women, especially Indigenous women.  As a result, Chez Doris decided to expand upon its service offerings.

Thanks to key partial funding from the Makivik Corporation, which represents Quebec’s Inuit, as well as the federal program, Reaching Home, managed by the CIUSSS du Centre Sud de l’Île de Montréal, Chez Doris will adapt its day shelter to offer a 24/7 service over the winter months, to immediately address the needs of homeless women and will offer 18 overnight beds and 16 seated resting places.

EXTENDED HOURS: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – Wednesday, March 31, 2021

WHERE: 1430, rue Chomedey, Montreal, QC H3H 12A7

MEDIA: is invited to schedule interviews or photo opportunities anytime in December; tours of the shelter are available by appointment as well as interviews with Marina Boulos-Winton, Executive Director of Chez Doris. With Christmas around the corner, it is always good to highlight initiatives such as these.

ABOUT CHEZ DORIS: Chez Doris offers services and programs to provide for women’s most basic and immediate needs related to coping with homelessness, poverty, mental illness and/or addictions. It is the only women’s day shelter in Montreal open 7 days a week, and from December 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, will be open 24 hours a day. Services include: breakfast, lunch and supper; access to showers, hygienic products, and a clothing depot; emergency food bags; respite beds; telephone information and referral assistance; a financial management program; an Inuit assistance program; a housing program; health and mental health services; legal & tax filing services; as well as educational and socio-recreational integration programs. In 2020-21 Chez Doris will serve more than 1,000 homeless women and provide more than 30,000 meals. www.chezdoris.org.

For further information: To schedule interviews or arrange for photo opportunities: MEDIA RELATIONS : Virginie Thiou, Communications, Exponentiel Conseil, Cell: 438-321-5138, vthiou@exponentielconseil.com; SOURCE: Chez Doris Women’s Shelter Foundation, Marina Boulos-Winton, Executive Director, Cell: 514-654-7597, marina.boulos@chezdoris.org

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