Activist wants city to create 24-hour warming centre

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This article was published 05/01/2018 (2877 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg says it has not been approached for assistance by local homeless shelters during the recent cold snap — but should its help be required, it has emergency management and social services teams available.

The response comes after a call from a local anti-homelessness activist, who says Winnipeg needs to open a city-run, 24-hour emergency warming centre before someone else is found frozen on the streets.

“The (city) focuses on collaboration with local community partners and non-government agencies to assist vulnerable populations during extreme weather events,” a spokeswoman wrote Friday in an email to the Free Press.

“The city encourages its residents to look out for each other during very cold weather. If a member of the public sees a person who appears to be in need of assistance or is injured due to the extreme cold, they should contact 911 immediately.”

In addition, the statement also suggests concerned citizens should wait with those in distress from the cold until emergency crews arrive.

The spokeswoman reiterated that during regular operating hours, facilities such as city hall, libraries, swimming pools and leisure centres can offer people a place to warm up.

However, Nancy Chippendale, who has been engaged in anti-homeless work and activism since 2007, said the city needs to go above and beyond its current efforts to ensure Winnipeg’s most vulnerable are safe during the winter.

“What we need is emergency preparedness. There are people without food, without clothing, people are dying. We’re one of the coldest cities in the world, yet we don’t have a city web page dedicated to homelessness,” Chippendale said Friday.

“There needs to be a 24-hour warming centre opened up by the city. This is an emergency situation… If you’re outside all night, you might die.”

Chippendale said she has reached out to other local activists and groups, including Bear Clan community patrol leader James Favel and Althea “Bannock Lady” Guiboche, both of whom expressed support.

Citing the recent death of Windy Sinclair — a 29-year-old mother of four, found frozen and dead in an alley last week — Chippendale said the city needs to begin compiling statistics on the number of people who die on its streets.

The cause of Sinclair’s death is not expected to be known until the spring, the chief medical examiner’s office said.

Chippendale said she draws inspiration from the activism of Cathy Crowe, a Toronto street nurse and homeless advocate, who was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2017.

For Crowe, the work Chippendale is attempting to get off the ground is vital in a city such as Winnipeg — known for its harsh winters — which only has a couple-hundred available shelter spots at night.

“In every city in Canada, people should pretty much be asking for the immediate opening of shelters. In the absence of a national housing program, we’ve seen the homeless population grow and grow and grow. Yet, in many cases, shelters have not grown with it,” Crowe said.

“It’s a life-saving decision right now if a city decides to open even the most basic of shelter, what we normally call a warming centre. Because of the cold, it’s a life-saving decision to make. You can’t wait for affordable housing to be developed.”

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpe