Lower temperatures mean tougher times for homeless people — and in Kenora, Ont., it’s gotten harder to find a free, warm place to sleep.
The Kenora Fellowship Centre homeless shelter is dealing with financial problems by charging clients a fee in some cases to stay the night.
“The centre has been progressively going in a deficit for the last two years,” said executive director Yvonne Bearbull.
The shelter, which received little government funding, provides 21 beds to those in need.
Money is now so tight, clients are eventually asked to pay a nightly fee to stay. After staying one week at no charge, people need to come up with $15 to keep their bunk.
“In the real world, you don’t pay your rent, you sleep outside. There are people who fall in the cracks, I understand that, but where does it stop?” said John Pencoff, the front-line supervisor at the shelter. “How do you run a place like this? You need some money.”
Without the funds, the doors of the only emergency shelter in the city could be forced to close.
The financial crunch is something people at the Siloam Mission in Winnipeg can relate to, but executive director Floyd Perras said the Kenora shelter needs a different solution as temperatures drop.
“When it gets really cold here, we are thankful that the Salvation Army can open up a couple extra beds so that people go there. If that wasn’t the case, we can’t turn people out at 30 below. You might as well be giving them a death sentence.”
Kenora staff don’t want to put anyone in jeopardy and are looking for other options, but as the bills keep piling up, the fee is the best bet at keeping the shelter running for now, they said.
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