Homeless Shelters Experiencing Omicron Outbreak amidst Fifth Wave

David Chapman, executive director of homeless shelter Resilience Montreal, says half of his staff has COVID-19.

Chapman says staff at Resilience Montreal had to choose who’s rights get priority, either choosing between staying closed to keep the staff safe or opening to keep people off the streets and warm.

He says the government is not helping out with what Resilience truly needs, stating that instead of the city sending more staff, they just send public health to ensure staff and clients social distancing. "We need more staff," says Chapman. He says that help from the government is slow and not actually what is needed.

Chapman says the gaps in support have developed a grassroots movement at Resilience, as some of the clients who use the services have stepped in to volunteer.

As a result, he says this helps to fill in the gaps that the government are not helping to fill.

With temperatures recently being in the -20s and -30s in recent weeks, he says having the shelter open is a necessity. Chapman recently recalls seeing a homeless man sleeping near the centre with only a jacket on.

In January, two people passed away in the cold, one a 64-year-old woman named Stella Stosik who was found at the entrance of the Berri-UQAM metro station and the other a 74-year-old homeless man who passed away in the NDG neighbourhood after freezing to death. His name was not released. 

This interview was used for a full episode of Local 514.

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