Winnipeg shelters keep people safe, amid danger cold snap

With extreme cold gripping the city, shelters are working to keep people warm and safe.

Staff at Main Street Project say their emergency shelter is operating as normal, even after a recent fire next door that forced a short closure. The organization says people are coming in throughout the day to warm up, grab food or coffee, access showers, and connect with supports, with overnight beds filling up fast.

“The shelter sector in Winnipeg collaborates really closely with each other, so were always doing our best to make sure that if we don’t have a spot can we call around to another shelter and utilize mobile outreach services to transport someone to another space,” said Cindy Titus, interim director of development, Main Street Project.

Meanwhile, down the street, the Salvation Army says it’s also expanding services as temperatures reach dangerous levels.The shelter has three areas with us with 10 bed spaces, according to said Kristin Marand, communications manager, the Salvation Army’s Prairies division.

Staff say their Centre of Hope opens additional spaces when needed, offering warm meals, daytime shelter, and overnight stays during extreme cold.

“We also have warm clothing for people if they walk up to the door for mitts, toques, scarves, that’s available all folks need to do is ask or they can come inside and get warm in the day room,” Marand said.

For people living through the cold firsthand, those spaces can be lifesaving.“I am lucky I didn’t lose my fingers just lost my nails, that’s the first time that has happened,” says Frank Spence who uses shelter service.

Spence says being homeless, he knows the cold firsthand and even recently has been dealing with frostbite on his hands. He says knowing when to come inside can be the difference between getting through the night or not.

 Spence says while shelters can be lifesaving, for him they are not long-term solution.

Main Street Project agrees with him.

“Shelters are supposed to be a emergency service, so we really need to work towards housing folks wherever and whenever we can,” Titus said.

Shelter workers say during extreme cold they encourage people to check on others and to call for help if someone looks like they may be in danger.