Ottawa has announced funding of over $3.8 million to renovate and upgrade the Resilience Montreal building to make it more energy-efficient.
“Resilience Montreal is a cornerstone of the city’s downtown core and offers help and care to Indigenous people experiencing homelessness on a daily basis. The funds allocated to the renovation and expansion of their building will allow them to expand their services and welcome people in need in an environment that respects the specific realities of Indigenous peoples. All ofMontreal will benefit from this investment,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Member of Parliament for Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Soeurs, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.
“We are excited to start the process of healing by developing an innovative, supportive, and empowering space for our community. Our clientele consists of those with trauma, many of whom are first or second generation survivors of residential schools. We are grateful that Infrastructure Canada recognizes Resilience Montreal’s crucial role in supporting a population that faces systemic discrimination and is often unable to access services in other organizations”, said David Chapman, Executive Director for Resilience Montreal.
This funding will be used for important renovations and upgrades to make the organization’s facilities more energy-efficient. The project includes upgrades to the roof, insulation, some windows, stairways and fire exits, as well as the sprinkler system. This will also help reduce the building’s greenhouse gas emissions by 93%.
“Homelessness remains a reality in our large urban centres. This initiative answers a call from our public health and public safety frontline workers to provide important, culturally-appropriate day services to those in need; services that were missing from the network of care and shelter services across downtown Montreal,” said Marc Garneau, Member of Parliament for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount.
The work will also allow the organization to optimize the scope of its services while also respecting Indigenous values and traditions. Thanks to this project, Resilience Montreal will be able to accommodate up to 150 people experiencing homelessness daily. The organization will thus be able to continue to offer its users essential services by providing volunteering opportunities to Indigenous people experiencing homelessness, in addition to giving them the social, financial and psychological support they need.
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