Shelter demand spikes as temp. falls to -47 C in Winnipeg with wind chill

As temperatures plummet the need for shelter in Winnipeg is skyrocketing.

It’s the middle of winter in Winnipeg and as temperatures dropped to what felt like -47 C with the wind chill on Monday, it’s temperatures like this that are causing major problems for the safety of those in the community without a place to go, as working shelters are feeling high demand for their service. 

“When it gets really cold, you know we have to make sure we’re meeting that demand because being outside can be fatal,” said Anastasia Ziprick, the Main Street Project’s (MSP) director of development. 

“I’m not going to lie, it’s stressful. Because, just even being outside with a jacket on is hard as a normal citizen, just going to your car,” she said, as demand is peaking.  “So for folks who are outside or unsheltered, we just want to make sure that we’re getting to everybody that might need emergency services.”

Main Street isn’t the only organization seeing an increase in people trying to stay warm and stay safe. 

“We’ve seen quite a higher demand for people who don’t have a 24/7 place to be,” said Kerri Koblun, community service’s manager with The Link Youth and Family Supports. “So, a lot of winter gear. Our beds are always filled.” 

Last week, Manitoba’s Premier Wab Kinew unveiled the “Your Way Your Home” initiative aimed at taking 700 people out of encampments and finding them suitable housing over the next 30 days, with Kinew saying the plan is already in place and set to start in February. 

“We have a strategy that moves people out, from encampment to encampment, over a 30 day period, into housing,” he said last week. 

“Up through a ladder of housing from social housing, onto the affordable and market base rents – and importantly – ensures that they stay there. Because they have the support that they need to be able to succeed.”

For those on the frontline like Ziprick, the province’s plan to get people into housing with the support they need is welcome, especially as demand for their services continues to climb. 

“Any plan that includes housing, which is so needed in our province right now, is welcome,” said Zaprick, who said the choice of long-time frontline advocate Tessa Blakie Whitecloud as the Premier’s advisor, is the right one. 

“We work really closely with Tessa, we work really closely with Siloam Mission and her and she has a lot of front line experience, so we’re just happy that she’s involved.”