Planned 24-hour shelter in Brandon left out in the cold in search for space

As another Manitoba winter approaches, Brandon is still trying to find a place for a 24-hour warming shelter.

There's been strong demand in the past for such a shelter in Manitoba's second-largest city. This time last year, Brandon's only overnight shelter — which doesn't operate 24 hours a day — was already past capacity.

That means people like Rose Cote could be looking for a warm space to spend the night this winter.

For the past two months, Cote has been staying in a tent in downtown Brandon. It feels awful living on the street, she says — she's cold and wants a shower, but she feels forgotten.

"They're not listening," she said. "I'm still out here outside, so nobody's listening if I'm outside, right?"

Earlier this year, the province announced it was earmarking $350,000 for the Brandon Neighborhood Renewal Corporation to expand its Blue Door Project drop-in shelter to provide a 24-hour warming space.

All that's needed now is an appropriate place.

The new warming shelter was supposed to open soon — but the proposed location, at 817 Rosser Ave., was met with pushback from business owners and ultimately rejected by the city's planning commission on Nov. 1. 

Michael Maendel, a representative for the Brandon Downtown Business Improvement Zone, said putting the shelter in the downtown location could negatively impact area businesses.

"There's better locations," he said.

"[If] people don't feel safe … they don't patronage those businesses, so we need to find another suitable location for that service — which is desperately needed — that doesn't negatively affect the retailers in the downtown."

The Downtown BIZ wants to work collaboratively with the renewal corporation and the Blue Door to find a permanent location for the shelter that doesn't hurt local businesses, Maendel said. 

"We understand the concerns — the businesses had viable concerns," said Rushana Newman, the executive director of the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation.

"We're working with them to … have that happy medium and reach a middle ground."

Now, the shelter is looking to rent space in two churches, but a new variance application needs to be approved in early December for that to happen.

"The province saw the need for this, especially when the Safe and Warm Shelter had its overflow" last year, Newman said. 

"I don't want to get into a situation where we are totally rejected and then we have to go back to the province and say … 'we're not able to do this when we really know that there's this need.'"

Brandon's Safe and Warm Shelter has a 41-bed capacity, and so far this season has seen around 25 to 30 people cycling through each night, says Barbara McNish, the executive director for Samaritan House Ministry, which runs the shelter.

Samaritan House — which is open from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the winter — would love to see a 24-hour shelter established in the city, McNish said.

But she knows from experience these things take time.

Safe and Warm also began by working out of churches. It took more than a decade for it to grow into a year-round shelter. 

But the need is pressing, she said.

"We're talking about people's lives. We're talking about building relationships with people … struggling to find accommodations, struggling maybe to stay sober," McNish said. "What are we doing to support those people?"

'They know nobody's gonna help': camp resident

Kat Salmon knows the frustration of trying to find a safe place to sleep — she already moved once this year when the encampment where she was living was removed by Canadian Pacific rail police.

"A lot of people are just [so] used to being on the streets now that they just gave up, literally, on looking for places, because they know nobody's gonna help or nobody cares or they can't afford it," she said.

Salmon expects her new camp will be removed soon due to safety concerns as the weather gets colder. While some people may have access to emergency housing, Salmon worries she'll be left with her tent and nowhere to go. 

"I'm still not prepared … but I'm preparing myself the best I can," Salmon said. 

Ask Auntie — the renewal corporation support program that operates the Blue Door drop-in — is working with other agencies to find housing options for people who need them, says co-ordinator Florence Halcrow.

Everyone is also conscious of the lasting impacts of the camp removal in July, she said.

"They were devastated.… The only home they had was taken down," said Halcrow. 

"We are working very hard to work with the people and meeting them where they're at, and trying to help them get to their next step."

The warming shelter is a part of meeting these needs, she says.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett says the city knows a warming shelter is needed, and he's speaking with the province.

He expects the winter will be spent trying to find something more permanent, with more services attached to it.

"I wish we had the evening drop-in space set up already," Fawcett said.

 "I'm confident we're going to — our timing is just not as good as I'd like."