It wasn’t just chilly, this past week, it was killer cold.
The City of Quesnel, like most municipalities across the province, does not have a permanent warmth room for those who have no home to retreat into during such extreme conditions. City Hall worked with some local agencies to whip up a solution to what might easily be a fatal scenario for those with no housing security.
“The warming centre will be staffed by individuals with experience working with people experiencing homelessness to ensure necessary support is available,” said a statement from the City of Quesnel, announcing the partners.
The Quesnel Tillicum Society-Native Friendship Centre and the Quesnel Shelter & Support Society-Seasons House were the two leading partner groups who joined to add warmth to this icy situation. The former was in charge of daytime warmth, the latter in charge of overnight warmth.
“People can come in and chill out. There will be coffee, some snacks, get warm, stay indoors,” said Friendship Centre manager Tony Goulet.
“We, Quesnel Shelter & Support Society, have increased our overnight staff until Jan. 17th. This is to cover the forecasted deep freeze,” said Tammy Janzen, executive director of the sheltering group. “Having the additional staff on site will allow us to safely monitor folks needing to access the shelter overnight.”
There are other programs and sites also providing critical help as the temperatures dip well below the minus-20 mark for days on end.
“Many of these resources are actually available regularly,” said Janzen.
• Nourish Lunch Program is provided out of Two Rivers Church on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. They are looking for specific items for lunch program guests to enjoy while escaping the elements: chess boards, crib boards, decks of cards, colouring books for adults, pencil crayons, and word search puzzle books. Check out Nourish Food Bank Facebook page for how to connect to donate.
• The walking track at the West Fraser Centre is open 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
• Coalition of Substance Users of the North (CSUN) is open 5-11 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
• Northern Health–Overdose Prevention Services Quesnel is open Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Northern Peer Connections (Community Action Team outreach van) is out in the community from 12-4 p.m. Monday to Friday. The van is staffed with a partnered service provider and a peer.
“If you know of someone out in the cold, please reach out to Seasons House at 250-991-0222 extension 0. Or try calling the outreach van directly at 250-983-4492. We will do our best to connect these people with services,” Janzen said.
No one is funding the emergency warming locations. Janzen and Goulet’s organizations are offering these services without compensation.
“The government sees there’s a problem, but there is no money,” said Goulet. “We’ve been advocating for it, but there is no (province-wide solutions to the province-wide problem). They are leaving it up to individual municipalities, not-for-profits, and other agencies to fill the gaps. That’s where it becomes really, really, really problematic.”
The Friendship Centre is located at 319 North Fraser Drive and Season’s House is located at 146 Carson Ave.
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