Two Saskatoon homeless shelters were at capacity or close to being full on Tuesday night when the temperatures were below -30 degrees. More extreme cold weather is in the forecast and shelter staff said they’ll need more donations to keep up.
The 49 beds and cots at the Salvation Army shelter on Avenue C South were full and the nearly 100 beds or mats at the Lighthouse Supported Living were also almost entirely in use. Both shelters give out warm clothes, food and blankets to their clients and, with the next 10 days expected to be just as cold as Tuesday night, they said more supplies are needed.
“It’s important that we let people know that they can come here, that they can stay warm. We want to literally save someone’s life.”
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Dale, a client at the Salvation Army, agreed.
He told Global News he lived in an old house in Lloydminster and was forced to leave when the basement flooded. He had no other places to turn and eventually ended up at the Saskatoon Salvation Army shelter. He never expected to be here.
“Sometimes people take things for granted. ‘Everything is ok and maybe it’s not going to happen to me,’” he said.
“Unfortunately, things do.”
He said he was grateful for the shelter.
“I can’t imagine anyone trying to sleep out there. I’ve been in tents before in the late fall but not in winter,” he told Global News.
Trachsel said he knows the work at the Lighthouse is important, regardless of the time of year.
“I’ve talked to people who have lost everything. I’ve talked to people who have lost everything earlier that day. This is the kind of place where people are able to come when those things happen.”
He said he expected the Lighthouse to receive more clients that it can accommodate as the winter continues to get colder, especially because the Lighthouse usually has many clients already living there for other issues.
“The need for coats, the need for socks, the need for all of those things is persistent,” he said.
“We were able to weather it very nicely this time but as winter goes on we anticipate going over our hundred beds… and running low on donations.
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