Safe Harbour’s warming centre will close its doors for the season on April 30 with more people than usual dropping by.
Operations director Tricia Haggarty-Roberts said this month 80 to 90 people on average have been using the centre daily.
“Oddly since the overflow closed at the end of March we’ve been seeing more individuals. We’ve been full at mats and we’ve seen more people dropping into the warming centre,” Haggarty-Roberts said on Wednesday.
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In December city council allowed the day time warming centre to reopen at night to add 20 more spaces to the society’s mat program so more people who were intoxicated or high had a place to sleep during the winter.
The additional spaces were used when the 26 spots at the mat program were full.
The warming centre, located in two shipping containers at 5256 53 Ave. in Safe Harbour’s parking lot, opened for the winter season Nov. 1. In addition to being a place to get out of the cold, people could connect with housing, meal and mental health supports.
Haggarty-Roberts said usually Safe Harbour puts out public requests for stuff like socks and toques. But for the first time in a long time cash donations are needed to support Safe Harbour services.
“There are big deficits this year. There’s just not enough to meet the need.”
She said for some clients the warming centre’s closure causes anxiety. Without the centre they have to figure out a place to hang their hat where they won’t get into trouble or be shooed off, and still feel safe.
“Our community does not have a 24-hour shelter which is a need and the warming is a stopgap measure until we can get a 24-hour shelter.”
The city and community agencies are waiting for the province to fund a new shelter. No money came through in last month’s provincial budget.
She said Safe Harbour has identified its shelter needs so the organization will be ready when funding becomes available. Starting and stopping daytime shelter service annually is tough.
“Certainly if we had that 24-hour shelter we’d be embedded in the community somewhere and be able to provide those meaningful daily activities every day.”
Haggarty-Roberts said in the coming weeks Safe Harbour and Turning Point will meet with city officials to see if they can work together to address homeless sleeping rough in the city’s natural areas. Edmonton and Calgary’s park services work together with their homeless outreach services.
She said Safe Harbour isn’t interested in just throwing money away by chasing homeless campers as they move around the city. Safe Harbour’s focus is building relationships, not enforcement.
“We’re trying to find a common ground to work together and work smarter with these folks.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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