Saskatoon’s vulnerable population running into ‘spatial shortfall’ with warmup locations: Mercredi

Saskatchewan so far has had luck with a mild winter, for the most part.

But another issue has come up with the cold-weather strategy in Saskatoon.

“We’re still running into a spatial shortfall,” Jason Mercredi, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction, said Tuesday. “We have a cold snap coming up, and we’re having the same level of service delivery.”

The “spatial shortfall” he’s referring to is the shrinking of capacities at warmup locations that are facilitated by the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP). SHIP has a running, live list of locations based on the day where those without shelter can escape the cold.

But with COVID-19 restrictions, those capacities are now limited. Mercredi explained what Prairie Harm Reduction has been faced with.

“Last year, we could have anywhere from 20 to 30 people in our space, warming up. Now with COVID spacing protocols, we can have five in our drop-in centre and four in our drop-in space … and we’re not the only ones,” he said.

“A lot of times, people come to our door. We have to say, ‘Oh, go try Avenue W or try Station 20 West,’ and they’ll say, ‘I already did that. It’s full.’ ”

Mercredi said he believes Saskatoon needs a 24-hour warmup location, something Regina just implemented.

He explained what some in the vulnerable sector have said to him this winter.

“They’re worried that they’re going to freeze. We had a lot of people crying, we’ve had people upset. We’ve had a number of people today that were quite upset with us — it’s not even that cold today,” he said.

650 CKOM has learned that earlier this winter, a death caused by hypothermia was recorded on the 2800 block of Lorne Avenue. The death was confirmed by the Saskatchewan Coroners Service.

Maj. Mike Hoeft is the area commander for the Salvation Army in Saskatchewan. He said at its shelters, there have been circumstances that have left staff scrambling.

When those in need of shelter are looking for warmth, Hoeft said if Salvation Army personnel can’t offer it, they attempt to track down additional resources or another area for the people to warm up.

“People need to remember that there are resources available … They should not stay out in the cold. They need to reach out and make sure that they have a warm place to stay,” he said Tuesday.

The dormitory space at the Salvation Army has reduced significantly, according to Hoeft.

“The other piece of that too is we’d often open up other areas of our facility. We would have cots or mats where we’d put them down on the floor … but because of the COVID pandemic, we’re not able to do that. That has limited our capacity for receiving people at this time,” Hoeft said.

You can view the latest warmup location list by SHIP for Saskatoon’s cold-weather strategy here.