Montreal City Weblog

Kate 10:57 on 2021-01-15 Permalink Reply  

• Marc 11:07 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  Curious as to whether there are any témoignages from people close to these hotels-cum-shelters as to how things are going. Seems like a very high concentration of people who are statistically more likely to have substance abuse/mental health concerns, and if the goal is to get folks off the streets you would want the places prepped for them to be welcoming, supportive environments.

  Is conversion of hotels really a better plan than mass booking empty AirBnBs in the community? Yes, support networks would be more spread out, but there may be less need for them if folks were better integrated in the community, rather than being warehoused…

• Ephraim 11:19 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  Even in the current situation, about 90% of the AirBnBs in town are illegal. But they are much easier to block you from booking them, cancel the booking on you and have furnishings that they will charge you for damage.

  I’m willing to bet that the hotel wanted to refurbish and that’s priced into the deal. They removed any furniture of value and moved it into some sort of storage.

  What we need are two things… rooming houses and wet shelters. Rooming houses provide some security, some privacy and a step forward. Wet shelters for those who disturb others, aren’t sober, aren’t on their meds, etc. And in the long run, an end to shelters run by groups who are just there to try to convert them to their religion and/or give them skewed values. (Sorry, I have a REALLY big problem with the Salvation Army and their motives.)

• Bill Binns 11:49 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  @Ephraim – I have asked my wife to search around in French and see if that contract is available to the public. I would bet a paycheck that a full reno job of the entire hotel at city expense is baked right in. Of course that’s assuming it ever stops being a shelter in the first place which is far from guaranteed.

  It’s sad because Place Dupuis is one of the best managed buildings in the city. It’s an island of calm and safety in an ocean of crime and danger. Now the dangerous people have the keys. If that IGA is driven out of business we will be reading sad stories about the Village being a “food desert” in 6 months.

• Michael Black 12:10 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  But how many religious groups still run shelters? I don’t read about the Salvation Army. Some are religious-based, but their purpose seems to be to do good.

  Yes, the very religious groups of old wanted to get people off alcohol. But drugs and alcohol do present real problems to shelters, and that seems to be driving things. Every group sees the need for a wet shelter, but they aren’t changing their shelter. That’s not religion, that’s practical.

• Ephraim 12:37 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  @Bill Binns – That hotel didn’t have a good reputation, which is why the management team was changed. But it has as much to do with the area as the management. I don’t know that a re-do will fix it anyway.

  That Jean Coutu used to have guards standing as you left and accusing everyone of shoplifting. Every once in a while a guard would suggest that I took something… I told them to call the cops, so I can sue them for false arrest. Quickest way to get them to back off.

  @Michael Black – There are some religious groups that are doing it for the right reason. The Salvation Army is a Protestant proselyting religion. They have been PUBLICLY pushing that they aren’t anti-LGBTQ+, this from an organization that turned down money because it required them to sign anti-discrimination policies. But the tide turned on them and they needed to update their image… and that’s the point, their image… they are spending enormous amounts of money to show a new “face”… because the previous one was eating into their collections.

• Bill Binns 17:20 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  @Ephraim, not sure about their reputation but that hotel appeared to be very busy right up until Covid. Lots of youth sports teams, buses full of Asian tourists and flight crews. I always thought it was odd that they were so busy being so far off the typical tourist map but it looked like they were filling those rooms.

• JS 17:45 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  @Bill Binns wouldn’t the locale of that establishment exert a downward pressure on room rates? The tourists you describe don’t sound like the executive suite types.

• Ephraim 19:06 on 2021-01-15 Permalink

  @Bill Binns – Thank you for proving my point. Those are all considered DEEP DISCOUNT groups. In fact, Hockey groups are the WORST guests… screaming kids!

• Joey 12:05 on 2021-01-16 Permalink

  I spent a sleepless night in Moncton once, sharing a hotel floor with kids in town for a hockey tournament.