Extreme cold keeping Regina’s shelters busy

As the mercury drops, Regina’s homeless shelters are filling up.

“Certainly we get a lot more demand when the weather is cold,” John McFadyen, Mobile Crisis Services’ executive director, said.

Extremely cold temperatures have already prompted more than 70 people to call Mobile Crisis in the last two weeks.

Most shelters are nearly full but said they haven’t had to turn anyone away. If shelters do fill up, Mobile Crisis can place those who need help in hotels, McFadyen said.

“We also provide transportation if there’s a need for individuals to get from their home to the hospital in the cold weather, or if they’re stranded out in the cold weather and at risk from getting from ‘a’ to ‘b,’ then they can certainly contact us and we can look at providing them with a taxi to make sure that they’re safe,” McFadyen said.

It’s a struggle for those who are homeless to stay safe and warm in these temperatures, Major Wayne McDonough, Salvation Army Waterston Centre’s executive director, said.

“When it’s this cold, if we have folks staying in our dorms who want to look for work, they don’t have transportation. It’s hard to get around, and so it kind of ties our hands in a lot of different areas,” McDonough said.

Although this winter is colder than last year, Mobile Crisis is expecting the number of calls to drop to 700 this year, down from more than 900 last year.

“I think the reason for the reduction is the Housing First strategy in combination with the Cold Weather Strategy, the flexibility, and the additional bed spaces that are available,” McFadyen said.

“And I think we’re just doing a better job,” he said.