The Thompson homeless shelter was only at about half its capacity through November but since colder weather arrived the number of beds in use has gone up, members of the recreation and community services committee heard at their Dec. 15 meeting.
The shelter was only at 48 per cent capacity for the month of November, in part because 25 homeless people are still being housed at the YWCA through the Sheltering the Homeless in Place Project (SHIPP). The homeless shelter also assisted four people to return to their home communities in November.
Thirty-three men, 12 women and one transgender person used the facility in November, according to a report from homeless shelter and Thompson Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) executive director Mitchelle Kelly.
As overnight temperatures dipped to -30 and colder beginning Dec. 12, the homeless shelter began to fill up and outdoor ice rink warm-up buildings were opened to accommodate the overflow under the city’s cold weather policy.
“Last night were at full capacity [at the shelter],” Kelly told the committee, adding that shelter staff communicate with emergency dispatchers when temperatures are cold and the shelter fills up so they know that if police or emergency services pick someone up to give them a ride, they can drop them off at the outdoor rink warm-up building instead of the shelter.
Coun. Kathy Valentino, who chaired the meeting while committee chairperson Coun. Braden McMurdo watched to see how committee meetings are run, said some places that homeless people went to warm up on cold nights in previous years might not be available this winter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may result in more people using the warm-up buildings when they’re open.
“A lot of times they were actually going to the hospital to the lobby to warm up so I’m sure that’s going to be stopped immediately with COVID so we should be prepared even more so,” she said.
There are currently 46 names on the Project Northern Doorway active participant list, Kelly reported The project seeks to house chronically homeless people, either in a group living facility at 95 Cree Rd. or in apartments around town.
The Cree Road facility, which has space for 16 residents, currently has three vacancies, said Kelly, and there is one person on the list who’s interested in moving in. Another person on the list who had to leave the place she had been staying was approached about moving to 95 Cree Rd. but said she wasn’t interested, according to Kelly’s report.
Shelter outreach workers regularly speak to shelter users about participating in Project Northern Doorway but Kelly said many people who use the shelter don’t want to move to Cree Rd. or other housing through Project Northern Doorway because they will have to spend some of their Employment and Income Assistance cheque on rent.
”They don’t want to get the money reduced,” Kelly said. “That’s the other problem that we face.”
The Thompson Homeless Shelter/CMHA has received a grant to purchase a van, which they plan to use to transport people to the shelter or from downtown to the warm-up buildings when they are open.
“Some people have to walk from downtown to the shack so it’s kind of a distance,” said Kelly.
The homeless shelter has reached out to Keewatin Tribal Council to help out with transportation until it has its own van, Kelly said.
