A helping hand is on the way for a temporary homeless shelter in North Battleford that faces closure.
The City of North Battleford is providing $6,000 to help keep the Battlefords and Metis Friendship Centre open. Local resident and former senator Herb Sparrow is also contributing $6,000.
The money should be enough to keep the facility open until the end of March.
The shelter provides a place to stay for up 16 people per night and is run mainly by volunteers. It costs about $5,000 a month to keep the shelter open.
Earlier this week staff worried it would be forced to close after funding from Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs and the United Way runs out at the end of the month.
Nikki Standinghorn, a volunteer at the shelter, says the shelter is necessary for their community. "Last week the wind-chills were hitting the minus 40s, and if it weren't for the shelter they would have been out sleeping on a doorstep."
