Kahnawake’s first homeless shelter

An emergency homeless shelter has quietly opened in town.

Though it’s been available to community members since late December, it’s yet to be occupied by anyone. That’s because it’s a last-resort option; since its opening Kahnawake Shakotiia’takehnhas Community Services (KSCS) has been able to refer those in need to surrounding shelters.

“We’re just doing this in order to have some form of response, because we don’t want a community member to contact us for help and we have nowhere to send them,” said Davis Montour, KSCS’s director of family services operations, who has taken the lead on getting the resource set up.

When a community member needs help finding an overnight shelter, whether it be a homeless shelter or one for domestic violence, their first step is to contact an intake worker through KSCS or the Kahnawake Peacekeepers. In recent months, however, neighbouring shelters have increasingly been maxed to capacity.

“That’s what created the demand to do something here in the community,” said Montour.

The shelter is housed in KSCS’s Hill Top building, across from the cross by Karonhianónhnha Tsi Ionterihwaienstáhkhwa, which it intends to one day transform into an assisted living facility. The space inside is limited due to unfinished renovations there, meaning right now it can only house up to two people per night.

It’s because of the limited number of beds that KSCS has held off on publicly announcing its opening. There currently aren’t enough personnel available to run a facility full time, Montour said.

In addition to that, the demand isn’t that dire, he said, even though there are now more homeless community members in the community than before.

Like elsewhere in the province, Kahnawake is also experiencing a rise in homelessness.

According to estimates compiled by KSCS and the social assistance team at the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK), that includes 12 community members “at risk” of becoming homeless. That’s fewer than there were in early December, when there were 17.

Those are only the compiled numbers. Some don’t reach out for help.

“We have no real idea what the demand for accessing a shelter within the community is going to be,” Montour said.

In downtown Montreal, homelessness is an undeniable reality. In Kahnawake, it presents differently; some may live in cars or spend their nights in abandoned homes or sheds. Many move from home to home of family or friends. Panhandling is unheard of.

“It’s a serious thing,” said Council chief Iohahiio Delisle, who worked alongside Montour to set up the resource. “Nobody really wants to really identify or acknowledge some people, but it is real, and we need to provide the services.”

The shelter by Karonhianónhnha is only a temporary solution, Delisle said. After March, KSCS will have to resume the renovations needed there to prepare for the opening of its assisted living facility.

A committee made up of KSCS and MCK staff and other Council chiefs, like Arnold Boyer and Jeremiah Johnson, are working to find a solution once the spring comes.

“We’re always looking at the ways we provide services, but more importantly, trying to optimize our services by tailoring them to meet acute care needs, to meet emergency needs,” Delisle said. “We’re looking at it through the model of nobody left behind. Nobody’s disregarded.”

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