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The clock is ticking on a west-downtown shelter that serves some of Montreal’s most destitute men and women.

Last week, The Open Door‘s administrators received notice they have until the end of July to find a new home for the day centre, which caters to people who have been turned away from shelters across the city. The Anglican church that has housed it for 29 years is being sold, and the buyers aren’t interested in keeping The Open Door going.

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Further complicating matters, zoning laws restrict the number of venues that could share a space with the shelter in Westmount and the neighbouring Ville Marie borough. And there are few promising leads or landlords willing to take a chance on it.

Short of divine intervention, it would seem that the shelter’s days are numbered.

“People ask me every day if the centre is closing and if they’re still going to be able to get food, clothing and a dry place to sleep,” said David Chapman, assistant-director at The Open Door. “And I tell them, ‘Yes, we’re going to find a way.'”