Temporary overnight beds hurriedly open in east London as homeless agencies call for help

In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.

The emergency warming centre at Carling Heights Optimist Centre opened to Londoners needing to escape the cold at 10 p.m., and was expected to be in place until noon on Friday. The facility will offer a bed, blankets, food and beverages. 

The centre opened hours after eight frontline social agencies called for more overnight supports for the unhoused and detailed a shortage of beds for people sleeping outside. They also shared the toll its taking on their frontline staff trying to help people to stay warm.

"This is a temporary measure that we do not have the ability to sustain over a long period of time, but recognizing the urgent need tonight with the very low temperatures, I've worked with our staff to ensure that we have the surged capacity for this evening," Mayor Josh Morgan said Tuesday.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit extended its cold weather alert to Wednesday afternoon as temperatures are expected to plummet -20 C with windchill dropping to a frigid –32 C overnight.

Six warming centres are operating throughout the city, including community centres and the London Public Library's Central branch downtown. But they're only open during regular hours and most close by late evening, leaving people scrambling in the overnight hours. 

The city has 396 shelters beds run by a variety of service providers, plus it added 60 temporary beds Monday night, Morgan said. 

Still, service providers who run the shelters say it hasn't been enough to meet the need.

"My staff have been experiencing a lot of really hard work out in the community and the trauma it takes on them to manage these things is really tough," said Chris Moss, executive director of London Cares. 

"Our outreach teams go out each and every day and when they find people in their tents, a lot of times they're very sick with frostbite and under a lot of distress. So our staff are really starting to struggle because there's literally nowhere for us to send somebody."

Moss estimates there are at least 320 people sleeping outdoors, but noted that number is likely higher because many people aren't in contact with outreach organizations. Although the city has done lots to help, the need is only growing, she said. 

"It's been hard because this really isn't the city's responsibility," she said. "This is about provincial lack of funding, housing and shelter beds. The city has done a lot to support what they can, but it's just not enough, and we are absolutely in a state of emergency."

Moss said her staff encountered a man living in a tent who was suffering from severe frostbite due to the cold, and another man who was released from a hospital emergency room at 4 a.m. but had no place to go. Since her team can only provide basic needs like food, water and blankets, they're limited in how they can help, she said. 

Agencies are also finding people resorting to extreme measures, such as staying awake and walking throughout the night, going to emergency rooms when they're not sick, or setting fires in order to stay warm, Moss added.