Agencies shift into high gear

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This article was published 23/10/2023 (726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the leaves begin to change, Lighthouse Mission’s Peter McMullen knows the needs of the homeless people served by the non-profit will, too.

Without regular access to laundry facilities, mitts, gloves and socks wet from snow and slush can become a health hazard or might be abandoned entirely.

Without a home and storage, a backpack with the capacity to keep a winter jacket is essential.

It’s more than a matter of staying toasty on a chilly day. On more than one occasion, Lighthouse Mission staff and volunteers have intervened when someone has come in from the cold without gloves, but some have been exposed to the elements so long they eventually lost fingers to frostbite.

“The cold weather itself can lead to people losing parts to amputation, maybe toes or feet…. We will see somebody come in in the fall, and then in the following spring, they might require a cane or a walker,” McMullen said.

“Very simple things, like a warm pair of boots that we might take for granted, is the difference between somebody being able-bodied and suddenly having a disability.”

Lighthouse Mission is one of many non-profit organizations across the province that are still struggling to keep up with the post-COVID increase in visitors and the impact of inflation on food insecurity. Preparing for Winnipeg’s notoriously bitter winters is a year-long affair that typically revolves around regular outreach to the community for donations.

“During the year, it’s important for us to keep reminding people that, as they’re going through summer cleanout or at any other time, that we’re (collecting) jackets, toques, scarves,” he said. “Because a lot of our community and our guests that come into the Lighthouse, are usually responding to very immediate needs, the next 12 hours, the next 24 hours.”

It’s not just winter gear that’s in high demand. Lighter hoodies can provide much-needed layers, and bags can be essential for storing those layers on days when afternoons are warm but nights are below freezing. Lighthouse primarily serves meals, and relies on donations to keep those meals going. They recently raised the number of sandwiches they put together for visitors to 500, and on Thursday, they were gone in just 90 minutes.

“Where it used to be, you’d see an increase in demand at certain times of the month, depending on where people might be with their social assistance and paycheques, it’s now a sustained level, it’s constant… if we were to put more (food) out, more would go,” he said.

Last winter, Siloam Mission, saw a significant increase on how many people were visiting, and the non-profit saw folks who had never needed their services before come in for the first time. Some were people who were relying on Canada Emergency Relief Benefit payments during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic to keep a roof over their heads.

“In some cases, we were serving twice as many meals on an average day (compared to) the same time of year in 2021. And I think this year, the pace of that increase has slowed, but it is by no means going down. It’s still going up,” Siloam communication manager Luke Thiessen said.

“We’re serving a lot of meals, we’re expecting a lot of folks coming through and needing some of those basic services. Our shelter is full, despite having expanded it during the pandemic.”

Thiessen described Siloam’s shelves as “fairly empty” right now and said the mission has less to offer than what would normally be on hand for the rest of fall and the holiday season.

Staples including T-shirts, undershirts, jeans, winter boots and jackets are among the most urgent needs, along with cold and flu medication.

“Looking at what came at this time last year, and knowing that the situation, if anything, is only worse and not better, I think it’s a concerning time,” Thiessen said. “We know that we can continue to provide services no matter what, but we’re bracing for a difficult winter.”

Winnipeg’s non-profits largely collaborate on their winter planning, in part through End Homelessness Winnipeg’s extreme weather-response committee.

The 2023-24 plan includes a few key initiatives to help mitigate the impact of the cold on the homeless population, including a funding stream that organizations can apply to tap into. As well, staff from some of the agencies can be deployed to maintain pop-up warming shelters in extreme weather, along with increased outreach through Main Street Project’s 24/7 van program, which can provide wellness checks and transport people to temporary shelter.

Main Street Project and other direct-service organizations in the committee have been working on a plan to provide cold-weather care, MSP communications specialist Cindy Titus said.

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MSP has set a goal of collecting 30,000 new pairs of socks in this, the donation drive’s sixth year. The goal was the same last year, but 50,000 pairs had been counted at the end of the month.

They were gone “quickly,” Titus said.

“Many people experiencing homelessness are at risk of foot-related health issues, because of the harsh climate,” Titus said. “But then also it can be very wet, and then get really cold, and it can cause a whole host of health problems.

“We’re supporting hundreds of people a day.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.