The Old Brewery Mission (OBM), one of Canada’s oldest and largest homeless shelters, recently inaugurated new living spaces at its men’s shelter due to a C$1 million donation (US$769,230) from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The renovation project was part of the OBM’s vision to phase out dormitories at its facilities, transforming them into semi-private rooms, or chambrettes in French.
The donation, announced by Elder Michel J. Carter (former AreaSeventy) in June 2023, allowed the OBM to modernize its emergency services, providing residents with safer, healthier surroundings and increased privacy and dignity. The shift to a more modern approach fulfills the OBM’s vision of long-term solutions to break the cycle of homelessness.
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James Hughes, OBM president and CEO, said the project is good news for the residents of the Webster Pavilion and the homeless community in general: “With this overhaul of our shelters, we are taking the lead in the fight against homelessness once again by affording greater dignity to our transitional service residents. We are paving the way for more modern homelessness services suited to current realities.”
New Living Spaces to Mark 135 Years of Commitment
Elder Dominic R. Sénéchal, Quebec Area Seventy, attended the inauguration event on November 1, 2024. “There are many reasons for homelessness, and solving this crisis cannot rest on the shoulders of individual organizations working alone,” said Elder Sénéchal. “It requires a collective effort — bringing together secular and non-secular organizations, governments at all levels, the private sector and all members of society. When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Montreal became familiar with the Old Brewery Mission’s <chambrette project, we knew the OBM was full of innovative ideas and had a vision for compassionately tackling homelessness in our city. This was something we wanted to support.”
The event marked not only the official opening of the chambrettes but also the 135th anniversary of the OBM. The project was an important reminder of the need to continue developing services for vulnerable populations, as homelessness in Montreal continues to increase. After phasing out dormitories at the Patricia Mackenzie Pavilion (the OBM women’s pavilion) in December 2023, which was a big step forward for its women’s services, the OBM has now eliminated dorms from all its shelters.
Dignity Matters
Emergency shelters are often the first contact people experiencing homelessness have with helping services before moving on to supportive housing. “This is usually a traumatic experience, especially for people going through it for the first time,” said Émilie Fortier, OBM vice president of services. “From a clinical point of view, it’s clear that greater comfort and privacy — and ultimately well-being — make residents feel safe and let them focus on their reaffiliation, enabling faster rehousing.”
It’s much easier for me to concentrate on my path when I have more privacy, more comfort, rather than when it’s more cramped up,” Ashton, an OBM client, said about his time living in the new semiprivate rooms. “My mind is always about what I am going to do, so I don’t have enough sleep. I don’t have this, or I don’t have that, or I’m sick.”