Warming shelter to open in nick of time

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This article was published 24/12/2020 (2092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Securing a spot at 1JustCity’s emergency overnight warming shelter usually starts with waiting in a physically distanced line outside Augustine United Church in Osborne Village.

The non-profit announced Wednesday its “Just a Warm Sleep” shelter would open for the first time in December. The “no barrier” shelter, which is entering its fifth season of operation, also plans to stay open an extra two hours each night, thanks to donations from End Homelessness Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

At 8 p.m. tonight, staff and volunteers will welcome up to 30 people one at a time into a two-room space at the church, where the team will collect contact-tracing information before giving guests a thick blue gym mat to rest on for the night. The organization will connect guests with a donated meal from partnering restaurants and match them with appropriate resources.

The news comes as Winnipeg is hit with frigid temperatures and snowfall after an unseasonably warm fall.

“We thought it was super important to open earlier this year with how cold it’s gotten in the last few days,” said Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, executive director at 1JustCity, in a news release Wednesday.

This week, 1JustCity has been labouring behind the scenes, said Whitecloud, pulling the mats from storage, sanitizing the space and training volunteers, while managing the non-profit’s other programs throughout the city.

“I would hope that it could be something eventually that could be all year-round and not just something that’s needed in the winter months,” said Katherine Davis, who has been a volunteer at Just a Warm Sleep since 2017. “That just makes me really, really happy that that’s happening, that people can have a safe and warm space, especially over Christmas.”

Whitecloud said the organization hopes its expansion into the church’s renovated basement will happen by February, where 1JustCity has been installing kitchen, laundry and shower facilities, lockers, single universal washrooms and additional rooms where guests can access health-care services.

Manitoba’s alternative isolation accommodation program has helped Winnipeg reach a greater shelter capacity in the system than normal winters, said Kristiana Clemens, communications manager at End Homelessness Winnipeg.

As of today, the city will have 639 beds for adults and youth, said Clemens. She said Winnipeg also has 73 spots for domestic violence victims.

One of the biggest “pressure points” shelters have faced this year has been ensuring enough staff and volunteers can support bed capacity, said Clemens. Due to COVID-19 and self-isolation precautions, some organizations had temporary staffing shortages, which forced them to reduce the number of beds.

“All the organizations working in the sector are seeking volunteers this winter,” she said.

1JustCity’s centre allows people, who may have been using substances beforehand, to access the shelter with their animals and shopping carts. It will be open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. starting tonight and will run until March 31.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca