Empty Building in Downtown Montreal Could House Homeless

Over 10,000 people are in support of converting Concordia's empty student residence into a temporary homeless shelter. This would be an amazing opportunity to fight the homelessness crisis in Montreal.

Samuel Miriello created the Sam Miriello Show (SMS) in early 2021 to fill the need for a gap in coverage towards community initiatives. In Sam’s coverage, he usually focuses on activism, issues facing our community, and organizations aiding different people and communities in the Montreal area. With experience as a student, having organized demonstrations, creating a media outlet and striving to make various changes in the community, Sam has good connections with various people in the greater Montreal area and aims to highlight underreported events and actions in the community.

Concordia student and president of the John Molson International Committee David has created a petition to push for Concordia to allow their residences to temporarily house homeless people during the pandemic, as these residences are currently vacant as a result of university being hosted online and residences not being used by students.

David was inspired to do this after the death of Montreal homeless man Raphael “Nappa” André, and wanted to do concrete action to support and house the homeless population during the winter.

Unfortunately, Concordia’s administration declined to house homeless people, as they said the residences are “not adequately set up to house homeless people”. David shares his response to the decision by Concordia’s administration, stating that funds could be raised by the public to prepare the residence to operate as a shelter. Watch the full interview for more information.

This interview was conducted on February 4, 2021.