The opening of a shelter offered an important opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the populations that often do not find themselves in permanent homelessness services, evaluate this new service and support service improvements in futur years.
As this research demonstrates, use of this kind of service is not only popular amongst homeless individuals, it is needed. While by no means exhaustive, and the sample size is fairly small, the following report offers a plimpse of the complexe and diverse realities for homeless individuals underserved by other services within Montreal. These realities include self-identified alcoholism; regular interactions with police and security agents; extensive use of other services, and being barred from other homelessness services. These snapshots of homelessness present not only the trajectories and experiences of individuals at the overflow shelter; but a reflection of the current limitations of services in Montreal.