Cold Weather Shelter program launches Monday

“It’s huge, it’s absolutely huge,” Brooks said of Friday’s announcement. “We had four people freeze to death in the city last year, that, that did not need to happen. And this gives everybody a warm place to come to.”

The idea to open a cold weather shelter that would offer a safe sanctuary for those who are intoxicated was only an idea weeks ago. Brooks said it was “unbelievable” how quickly it came together.

“On November 29, it was a thought. We had

On Nov. 29, the room was filled with equipment. But on Dec. 23, it will have 10 beds, cots that come from the Canadian Red Cross in the room.

“Everyone got together and made it work, in a matter of under three weeks,” Brooks said.

Although the program will be funded for this winter season, Brooks said she hopes the program will be offered every year.

“I hope that someday that maybe it can be offered longer than just the cold weather months. Because, not only will they have a safe place, they’ll also have access.

There’s no expectation placed on the clients that come here. But if they want help, it’ll be available.”

The support comes in response to four freezing deaths

The support for the shelter comes in the wake of four freezing deaths that occurred in Prince Albert last winter. Three of the four people were known to have accessed
Our House. The fourth person, Angus Merasty, died on his way home after finding himself lost in a fenced-up area, said Our House manager Edna Bruce.

John Benjamin Roberts, 49, who also went by the name of Ben Dahl, died last December behind a business in the Cornerstone shopping district. Bruce said he was a well-known figure in Our House’s lobby and was there daily. “He was a very quiet man, kept to himself,” she said.

She described John Dorion, 62, as a “character” who liked attention and was well-known. Doris Ahenakew, 46, had a partner, and he arranged for her to go to detox the night she died. She never made it to detox – she went drinking instead, Bruce said.

“They say with hypothermia, you feel warm, after a while you start feeling warm, and you don’t realize you’re freezing to death, and they found them just sitting with their intoxicants…” she said of Dorion and Ahenakew.

She said the staff at Our House knew Dorion, Roberts and Ahenakew well and were devastated.

Dorion was the first cousin of PAGC Grand Chief Ron Michel. “He froze just a little ways from here,” Michel said.

“We grew up together. Very sad to see,” he said after the media event.

During the media conference, he said when people talk about homelessness, they’re talking about things that are happening to the First Nations population in Prince Albert. He spoke of setting up a “permanent place” where they can look at the things that are happening.

Intoxicated people with nowhere to go end up in custody

In an average year, about 3,000 people end up in police custody for public intoxication. Prince Albert Police Service Chief Troy Cooper said that on Thursday night after midnight, the police had 30 people in custody, and of that, 12 were in custody for public intoxication.

Public intoxication is a provincial statute and not a criminal offence, he added.

“What we often find is people are incarcerated that could be elsewhere, whether it’s in a treatment centre or in a shelter. You know, right now, jail is the only option for them. But to have a treatment centre or shelter like this one provides a more appropriate response to people who don’t need to be in jail.”

If a resident comes across someone in distress outdoors at night, Cooper said they can call the police for help. The police will make the determination whether the person who is at risk goes to a shelter, detox or into custody.

“But often they do have somewhere to go, and they’re not allowed to be there when they’re drinking etcetera. So, this is an option for those sorts of people as well.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

Cold Weather Shelter program launches Monday

What's Trending