Numbers higher than expected at Salvation Army’s overnight warm-up site

Saskatoon‘s first extreme cold snap was met with a team effort thanks to a number of groups in the city who want to keep people safe.

The overnight warm-up location saw higher-than-expected numbers over the past week.

St. Mary’s church hall is empty during the day, but in the evening, it takes on a whole new life when it transforms into an overnight haven for anyone needing to stay warm and get out of the frigid night conditions.

“This place is ideal because of the size and location, being so close to

St. Paul’s Hospital and other services along 20th,” Salvation Army Crossroads Executive Director Gordon Taylor, told CTV News.

The Salvation Army runs the hall as a night warm up site in conjunction with a daytime shelter at Prairie Harm Reduction a few doors down. The rent for the hall and other expenses are funded by the federal government.

“I’m very grateful for all of the organizations and volunteers and everybody who’s out there keeping people alive in these incredibly cold conditions,” Mayor Charlie Clark told CTV News.

Warm-up locations are set up around the city in most libraries, Egadz, The Bridge, and other organization buildings.

At the St. Mary’s site, staff had to be increased from three to four people because of demand here.

The space is set up for 80 people overnight and started Dec. 4th. The hall doesn’t have any beds or mattresses, only chairs. That’s because it’s not a warm-up shelter. Since it only has chairs, it fits more people according to Taylor.

“We very quickly saw many people coming in at night to warm up in this space and when the cold weather hit, we consistently see numbers over a hundred every night now.”

On one of the coldest nights last week though, numbers were pushing closer to the 200 mark.

Taylor and the Salvation Army crew are not prepared to turn people away in the frigid conditions, so they make it work.

There are two washrooms with multiple stalls, but he admits they were working hard to keep the old toilets running properly and had to get them repaired a few times during the week.

It’s logistics like washroom capacity that affect where the overnight warm-up can be established, but looking ahead to next year is important according to Taylor.

“The other need I would like to see us address as a community is to have a plan for next winter sooner than later.”

Taylor would like to see more government support to establish warm up facilities moving forward or even get businesses, organizations, or individuals to come forward to offer a space or help.

Even though the weather is improving, Saskatoon’s Emergency Management Organization is extending the extreme weather response until Saturday. Meaning all hands-on deck to help those in need.

Medavie Ambulance is one of those groups and they’re seeing increased demand and complexities with the extreme cold.

Troy Davies with Medavie, admits they worry about equipment freezing and have to be very careful that IV lines stay warm in order to administer life-saving treatment.

According to Davies, calls like slip and falls become dire quickly with freezing conditions as patients could risk freezing injuries if left too long.