From a transit bus to an indoor space, the Carmichael Warming Centre officially opened its doors to those in need. This is the first time that Carmichael Outreach will keep its doors open during the night to provide warmth.
“It’s constantly a revolving door around here of people, but we love it,” said Chrysta Garner, Carmichael Outreach development coordinator.
“We love that people are able to come here and use the facilities. We have a big space.”
On the evening of Jan. 22, 2024, people who wanted a space to warm up were given that opportunity in Regina’s downtown area. From 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning, local residents are provided with a warm place, offered hot beverages/water and a bite to eat as well as winter gear when they are available.
“We wanted to have pretty much the same operations as at nighttime that we did during the day,” said Garner. “So, people can come, they can sit down at a table, they can relax, they can put their head down, use the space as they needed to.”
Weeks after funding was announced from the City of Regina and the province, staff worked around the clock to ensure plans ran smoothly for the warming space.
“Everything went really, really well. Everybody was fully cooperative, and everybody needed this space,” said Garner.
“The people that came in and used the facility, used it for what its purpose was. So, they didn’t use it in any mistreatment at all.”
Although the Carmichael Warming Centre officially opened its doors on Monday evening, the building was open to those in need of warmth on Friday night. Garner said staff who oversaw operations at the warming bus, which was located outside Carmichael Outreach, continued their final days of duties inside the warming centre.
“Everybody was so cold sitting on the bus, and it was quite hard for everybody,” she said. “It was nice to be able to come into a nice, warm building and actually get a good night’s rest.”
The Carmichael Warming Centre will remain operational until May. This makes Regina’s second overnight warming space in the city as All Nations Hope/Awasiw is the other place that provides indoor space for locals to warm up in.
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