by Timothy Edward, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The City of Montreal will soon expand its social intervention squad EMMIS (Équipe mobile de médiation et d’intervention sociale) to the entire city.
Since 2021, EMMIS has been operating in collaboration with the police to assist the city’s homeless population in the Ville-Marie and Sud-Ouest boroughs as well as within the metro system. The project was expanded to the Plateau and Hochelaga last year.
The Quebec Public Security Ministry and the city are investing an additional $50-million in the project to increase the number of EMMIS workers from 32 to 90, deploy them across all of Montreal’s 19 boroughs and set up a 211 hotline, which is due to be operational in January 2025.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante made the announcement in a press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters that EMMIS isn’t the end game. In a TV interview yesterday, Plante said, “The solution to homelessness is social housing with community support and appropriate healthcare,” with more investment needed from all levels of government.