2021, a year of solutions, resilience and creativity

As the year draws to a close, the Old Brewery Mission pays tribute to all our staff members, who overcame many challenges to not only keep homeless men and women safe during the pandemic, but to find sustainable solutions to homelessness.

A safe place to stay

Ever-shifting health rules forced us to keep making changes on the fly. From the beginning of the year, our people were in fast-adapt mode as they scrambled to alleviate the insecurity the pandemic created for our clients.

In response to the escalating demand, the Saint-Laurent Campus team quickly came up with solutions. In collaboration with public authorities and numerous partners, overflow units and services were set up at unconventional sites such as hotels, a church and even arenas.

Highlights:

• Emergency programs were established at the former Royal Victoria Hospital to help men and women experiencing homelessness find housing.
• A new alcohol management program, a first in Quebec, was launched for homeless people with severe, chronic alcohol dependence.
• Isolation areas were set up at the former Royal Victoria Hospital for people experiencing homelessness who tested positive for COVID-19 or were waiting to be tested.
• Our food services cooked healthy and varied meals, including timeless classics as well as more vegetarian and world cuisine options.
• In response to the housing crisis in Montreal, we focused our efforts on increasing access to housing; we have at least 325 housing options and plan to grow this number.
• 85% of the women in the Patricia Mackenzie Pavilion’s “Les Voisines” program regained their independence and no longer needed our emergency services.
• Our research team helped develop a database to support collaboration among homelessness organizations in Montreal.

These achievements were made possible by the support of our community, which mobilized to enable the Mission to continue its efforts.

Our new 2020-2021 Impact Report, available online, describes the many other initiatives carried out over the past year.

To support our work, please make a donation today.