Homelessness and social cohabitation

Last updated September 8, 2023

Montréal and its partners offer various resources to support and guide people experiencing homelessness. Here’s an overview of what’s available.

In partnership with the Réseau de la santé et des services sociaux, community organizations and the boroughs, the city helps people experiencing homelessness by supporting: 

  • Social cohabitation and intervention projects in public spaces
  • Emergency shelter services and the creation of social housing
  • Social integration and inclusion projects
  • Organizations that work directly with these people.

Teams on the ground

The city is working with the SPVM, the STM, the health care system and the Société de Développement Social (SDS) to deploy teams of outreach workers on the ground, on the street and in the Metro. The outreach teams direct people experiencing homelessness to the right resources and facilitate their social reintegration.

Here are some examples of the nine existing teams:

Actions to support social cohabitation

A mobile social mediation and response team (équipe mobile de médiation et d’intervention sociale - EMMIS), made up of outreach workers, is deployed on the ground in Le Plateau–Mont-Royal, Le Sud-Ouest, Ville-Marie and Mercier–Hochelaga–​​​​​​​Maisonneuve.  

The EMMIS team works directly with vulnerable people in order to act upstream on the difficulties of cohabitation between people living with homelessness and residents or businesses.

Information and training sessions are also being organized to contribute to better coexistence and work together toward solutions.

Dedicated resources

The 211 website lists some 5,000 community-based organizations. This online directory also provides a 7-day-a-week telephone help line to support people who are homeless or in vulnerable situations.

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