Our House operates the cold weather shelter yearly from October to April. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Dangerous Weather

P.A. cold weather shelter always full

Dec 11, 2019 | 4:06 PM

Prince Albert has been gripped by dangerously cold temperatures since Sunday, and if you think that could be putting a strain on the city’s emergency cold weather shelter, you might surprised to find out it’s actually been full almost every night since it opened in the middle of October.

The 10-bed cold weather shelter operates from Oct.15 to Apr. 15 in the basement of the YWCA’s year-round shelter, Our House. Unlike the rest of Our House, there is no requirement clients be sober to stay the night, with the priority being getting people out of the potentially deadly temperatures.

Our House Manager Edna Bruce told paNOW they’ve had to turn away between 2-5 people every night this week. She said they don’t have the staff or the space to add more beds, but she’d like to see another location opened in the downtown where people can get out of the cold at night.

“I don’t believe there are sufficient places for people to stay in the city,” she said. “I think if there was a place with 20 beds it would probably be quite well utilized, or you know, at least another 10 somewhere.”

When the cold weather shelter doesn’t have space for someone, P.A. Mobile Crisis is called. Bruce said the service connects people with a place to stay, sometimes with a friend or relative, possibly in detox, or in some cases, at a hotel. If someone is highly intoxicated, they’ll spend the night in a cell at the police station.

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Bruce explained many of the people who use the cold weather shelter might have somewhere else to stay but are simply not able to get there.

“People are stuck downtown and can’t get to the West Flat, the East Flat or the hill because it’s too cold to walk that far,” she said.

Since the shelter opened for the year in October, she estimates around 120 people have used the service.

‘Contact 911’

Meanwhile Parkland Ambulance Director of Public Affairs Lyle Karasiuk urged the public to contact emergency services if they see someone attempting to shelter outside at night, for example at a bus stop.

“Please do them a very significant favour and contact 911. Get emergency services like our police service or our paramedics to come and deal with them, we have the mechanism to at least get them somewhere warm and safe so they don’t succumb to the elements,” he said.

The frigid conditions are expected to stick around for another week or so. Environment Canada warned people to dress in layers and cover extremities to avoid frostbite. On Tuesday night, the temperature dropped to -31 C, a biting -40 C with the windchill.

“Those are dangerous windchill conditions and people should act accordingly, meaning dress appropriately and avoid being outside for any length of time if they don’t have to be,” Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang told paNOW.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom