Mission Old Brewery

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With the arrival of spring—the season of renewal and hope—it feels important to reaffirm the guiding goal behind all we do at the Old Brewery Mission: breaking the cycle of homelessness. We can't achieve it with our emergency services alone. Nor is it enough to provide people experiencing homelessness with social housing. They must be helped to reintegrate into society and stay in the home that means stability and a fresh start for them. This is the crux of our approach and we have a proven method: a personalized strategy tailored to each person's needs, delivered continuously and focused on long-term solutions.

In the next few months, we will pass a number of milestones. Several real estate projects will open, expanding our housing stock and giving more people the chance to turn a new page and regain stability and dignity.

2026 is the 20th anniversary of the opening of our first rehousing facility. Since then, we've built a network of over 500 housing units, managed daily by our teams in collaboration with our partners and guided by an overarching vision: to offer not just shelter but also a clear path to a better future. Two decades of experience have shown that a Housing First model, paired with tailored support services, can transform lives and change our city.

As we enter this new phase in our growth, I want to thank our donors, our community and institutional partners, and all the staff who work tirelessly on the front lines. Together, let's continue building a Montreal where everyone can have a home and the stability they deserve.

To find out more, read on!

JAMES HUGHES

PRESIDENT AND CEO

PETAL PROGRAM

Since early February, the Old Brewery Mission has been sitting in on hearings at the Administrative Housing Tribunal (known by its French acronym TAL) in Montreal and reaching out to tenants facing eviction—before they end up on the street.

The PÉTAL (Prevention of Eviction at the TAL) program offers a rent assistance fund for people at risk of homelessness because of non-payment of rent. It targets individuals with physical or psychological problems, addictions or mental health issues or disabilities. The goal is to perform 60 assessments per week.

NEW HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS

At the end of February, the launch of PRISM Nord expanded the range of transitional housing options for people living with mental health challenges who are experiencing homelessness.

This new facility, designed to provide support and stabilization, is the result of a partnership between the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montreal, the Old Brewery Mission and L'Espace la Traversée, which is providing the space for the project.

BOOK LAUNCH: ENDING HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA

At the end of January, La Livrerie bookstore hosted the Old Brewery Mission and its guests for the launch of the book Mettre fin à l'itinérance au Canada, the French version of Ending Homelessness in Canada. Edited by James Hughes, President and CEO of the Old Brewery Mission, the book includes chapters by distinguished researchers and leaders of community organizations from across the country.

Together, they share insights on the causes of homelessness and propose a roadmap to prevent homelessness in Quebec and beyond, as well as concrete solutions and promising practices to advance prevention efforts.
We encourage everyone interested in the subject to purchase the book in order to continue the discussion and support solutions to homelessness.

Andréanne Meloche is Assistant Director of Strategic Campaigns and Major Gifts in the Philanthropy Department. After studying sociology, she wanted to work in a field where she could make a difference in the community.

OP-ED ON THE QUEBEC BUDGET

Quebec's latest budget sends some positive signals about addressing the homelessness crisis. Among other things, it consolidates several essential programs. This is progress, but deeper and more structural changes are needed if we truly want to turn back the rising tide of homelessness.

This is the argument Old Brewery Mission President and CEO James Hughes makes in an op-ed published in Le Devoir, where he analyzes the announced measures and the ongoing challenges in detail.

READ THE OP-ED

AN EVENING ABOARD THE OLD BREWERY MISSION SHUTTLE

In late January, a Radio-Canada television crew spent an evening aboard the Old Brewery Mission shuttle, which carries people experiencing homelessness to emergency shelters and warming centres across the city. They followed Yolette Jean, affectionately nicknamed "Madame Navette," an experienced outreach worker well known to users of the service. A month later, Yolette was named Citizen of the Week by the Ici Radio-Canada program Mimosa.

WATCH THE REPORT

NEW FACILITIES FOR WOMEN OPENING SOON IN MONTREAL

At a time when Montreal, like the rest of Quebec, is experiencing a dramatic increase in homelessness, the Old Brewery Mission is opening three new facilities in the coming months. Among other things, they will serve women experiencing homelessness. The first, a new building at the corner of Montgomery and de Rouen streets at the eastern tip of Ville-Marie Borough, is scheduled to open in May.

A PRESENCE THROUGHOUT THE CITY

With an ever-expanding offer of emergency services and community housing, the Old Brewery Mission's presence in Montreal is always growing in order to accompany the largest possible number of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness on their journeys to residential stability.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - MAJOR CAMPAIGN
2023-2028

The Old Brewery Mission is currently conducting a major fundraising drive to enable it to continue supporting vulnerable people at every stage of their reaffiliation.

Thanks to the support of our generous donors, we are able to carry out innovative projects while maintaining our essential services. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has already contributed.