Some homeless shelters at capacity as extreme cold puts Winnipeggers in 'life and death situation': Siloam

As Winnipeg is blanketed under snow and an orange-level extreme cold warning, several outreach organizations say people experiencing homelessness are in a "life and death situation" while some shelters are operating over capacity.

Temperatures plummeted to a low of –30 C on Tuesday, with the wind chill making it feel like –43 overnight, Environment Canada said. That extreme cold is expected to continue as Winnipeg is forecast to see lows of around –35 C throughout the week, with icy winds making it feel even colder. 

Frostbite can develop within minutes in these frigid conditions, the federal weather agency warns. People who don't have access to adequate winter clothing or a place to warm up are at an even greater risk.

Margot Ross, senior development manager at Siloam Mission, said the extreme cold is a "life and death situation for someone experiencing homelessness."

"In winter in Winnipeg, it's particularly a precarious time if you are experiencing homelessness," Ross said, adding that staff see an "awful lot of frostbite this time of year." 

The Princess Street shelter, which can accommodate about 400 people overnight, is always at capacity — in fact, it often runs over capacity, she said. It also serves meals to about 1,500 people daily.

Ross said Siloam is in "desperate need of warm clothing," including winter jackets and boots, gloves, hats and new socks and underwear. The mission's supply was largely depleted, she said, after a fire at the vacant Manwin Hotel last week destroyed the Main Street Project's donation centre and forced that shelter to close temporarily.

Cindy Titus, Main Street Project's interim director of development, said the shelter is open again for daytime programming, drop-ins and overnight stays. But the water and smoke damage to its donation centre has made the items stored there unusable, she said, forcing them to divert donations to Siloam and Linking Hope until they can make repairs.

"We've lost access to an important space for our organization and the community and then we've also lost some significant number of clothing donation items," Titus said. 

Those donations were especially important during this extreme cold snap, she said. 

"When the weather is really cold like this, we need those items on hand immediately and very quickly," Titus said, adding they add a second mobile outreach van in the winter to distribute warm clothing, food and harm-reduction supplies.

She said the shelter fills up really quickly when it's this cold out, so they allow people who couldn't get a first-come-first-served bed to warm up in their lobby on a rotating basis. 

"Winnipeg is known for its harsh climate. It gets really hot in the summer and really, really cold in the wintertime. Many of the people experiencing homelessness are at great risk because of this very cold weather," Titus said.

Kristin Marand, communications manager for the Salvation Army's Prairies division, said the Winnipeg Centre of Hope emergency shelter usually sees an uptick in during the winter, but the staff at the Henry Avenue facility "can absolutely make space" for those who need it.