Traders met Friday afternoon on rue Fusey wish the best for the project, others want to at least give the runner a chance before criticizing.
“It’s good. There are many [de personnes en situation d’itinérance] who sleep on bus benches and freeze. It’s not fun, sleeping outside at night,” says the owner of Au Vieux Café, Carmen Desjardins.
The general director of Le Bon Citoyen, Nathalie Bruneau, also considers that there is a need in this sector of the city, even if the project is first considered to provide transportation to the city center.
“There are people who are really bad when winter comes. We’ll see how it goes. […] It will adapt as we go, but we have to try something.”
The heat stop will be open seven days a week, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., from December 2 to April 15. People experiencing homelessness will be able to go there to warm up. The place does not have a dormitory, but around ten camp beds will be available if necessary, indicates Le Havre.
A transport service will be provided by drivers, who will shuttle between different meeting points, namely the Ébyôn center on rue Saint-Irénée, Le Refuge on rue Sainte-Julie, the Le Havre Center on rue Brébeuf, the the former Tim Horton’s on Boulevard Jean XXIII and the Canadian Tire gas station on Boulevard des Forges.
When the heat stop closes, the drivers will take people to different daytime resources, namely Ébyôn, Tandem and Point de rue.
Remember that this project received the approval of the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, as well as that put forward by the organization Point de rue. It benefits from a grant of $288,000 from the Vers un chez soi program, as part of the Canada-Quebec agreement in the fight against homelessness.
The people reached as well as partners from the community sector and public services will have access to the drivers’ cell phone numbers in good time, explains Le Havre.
Note that a citizens’ assembly will take place before the opening of the heat stop to inform the population about its operation. The date of this meeting has not yet been announced.
