Shelters and warming centres a ‘short-term solution’, says Winnipeg shelter

A cold snap across the province led to an increased demand for one shelter in Winnipeg over the weekend.

Siloam Mission saw its shelter and pop-space hit maximum capacity as vulnerable Winnipeggers sought to find a place of warmth and to sleep for the night. The city faced several days of below -20 degree weather.

Paul Loewen, a manager with the Winnipeg-based organization, said that a pop-up warming centre was set up as an emergency measure to ensure people had a place to stay warm.

A shelter in Brandon, the Samaritan House Ministries, said it’s been seeing increased demand since the start of the month. The shelter has a capacity for 41 beds. Executive director Barbara McNish said the shelter has seen up to 65 people come to the shelter every day since the start of the year.

She added that if the shelter goes over its numbers, people are sent to another warming centre in the city,

“We have a variety of reasons that people may stop in. Some of them check in and want to stay for the night. And then after a few hours of sleeping, they’re restless and they go out,” said McNish. “It’s kind of a revolving door, but people are safe and warm.”

Whilst shelter space provides residents with a service they need, according to Loewen, it is simply a short-term solution waiting for a longer-term answer.

“What we have noticed is a continuing increase in demand with the cold weather. And it really points to the fact that this is an emergency situation and that the long-term answer is to build more housing,” said Loewen.

In an earlier interview with Global News, Siloam Mission CEO Tessa Blake-Whitecloud said that the best way to look at the city’s homelessness problem is through the lens of a housing supply problem.

“The true solution to homelessness is that people have a home from which they can do all of the other work they need to do to set up a thriving and contributing life,” said Blake-Whitecloud.

— with files from Global’s Iris Dyck

1:25 A shelter, warming centre opens its doors for the winter season in Winnipeg

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