Earlier this month, the Chez Doris women's shelter in Montreal's west end Shaughnessy Village put an urgent call out on Facebook for clothing donations, particularly for women's underwear and footless leggings.
And its executive director, Marina Boulos, says the community response has been very positive.
"It's an improvement. Our bins are almost full," Boulos says. "The public has been really great at responding to our needs."
There call for footless leggings, she says, got a great response. "There are even yoga studios doing promotions on footless leggings, so hopefully, these items are going to continue to come in," Boulos says.
At Chez Doris, the bins usually don't stay full for long, however, and Boulos points out that the need is ongoing. She says there's a constant need for all kinds of everyday clothing — running shoes, jeans, socks, among other things. There's a particularly pressing need, she says, for larger sizes of women's underwear.
She says an increasing number of women have taken to using the shelter's services in recent years, because of a lack of social housing and an overall increased cost of living. Increasing gentrification in some neighborhoods — including the Shaughnessy Village neighborhood, in the shadow of the old Montreal Forum — has made matters worse for those in need.
"We're seeing a 50 per cent increase of women who need their primary needs fulfilled," said Boulos.
Aside from shelter services for women, their headquarters on Chomedey St. provides clothing, meals, activities and personal assistance. A year ago, a similar facility, the Open Door, left their space in an Anglican church in Westmount for another church on Parc Ave., leaving Chez Doris as the only drop-in centre of its kind in the western end of downtown.
The change of season from summer to fall makes the need for clothing of all kinds all the more urgent. In October, Boulos says they'll start accepting donations for winter clothing.
The shelter takes in all kinds of used women's clothes, as long as they are clean and not damaged. Donations can be dropped off at their Chomedey St. location during their opening hours.