Drummondville takes up comedian on 'tiny home' donation
Shelters expected to be ready for use next week
An organization in Drummondville overseeing emergency shelters received some 20 unassembled tiny homes donated by comedian Mike Ward on Friday, after Montreal turned them down.
The parts are currently in storage and will be built over the next few days. A group of young people from Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Drummond volunteered to help a non-profit organization, Ensoleilvent, assemble the homes.
Workers from Ensoleilvent will meet with representatives of the city of Drummondville Wednesday to discuss where the shelters can be installed.
Ward originally offered 25 tiny homes to Montreal to accommodate unhoused people, but Mayor Valérie Plante refused them, saying the need for more intervention workers to run existing emergency shelters is more pressing.
François Gosselin, clinical co-ordinator at Ensoleilvent, said he expects some of the tiny homes to be habitable by the end of next week.
He said at least one of the tiny buildings will be set up on the organization's land at 490 Brock Street.
As for the others, he said some of the wooden shelters could be installed on a municipal parking lot.
Victoriaville — which accepted five tiny homes from Ward — is also considering this option.
With files from Radio-Canada's Jean-François Dumas