'We will get you a bed,' councillor vows as shelters pause admissions
4 overnight shelters turning away new clients as they deal with COVID-19 cases
With Ottawa in the grip of a cold snap and four overnight shelters turning away new clients, one city councillor is vowing no one in need of a bed will be denied a warm place to sleep.
"We really don't want people out in the cold," Orléans Coun. Matthew Luloff, who chairs the city's community and protective services committee, told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday. "We want to take care of you."
In the wake of multiple cases of COVID-19 at local shelters, the Salvation Army Ottawa Booth Centre, Shepherds of Good Hope, Cornerstone Housing for Women and The Ottawa Mission have all paused intakes in an effort to prevent further spread of the illness.
The bottom line is, you do not have to sleep in the cold.- Coun. Matthew Luloff
According to a joint news release, further testing is planned at all emergency shelters in the upcoming days.
Luloff said people can still visit one of the city's three respite centres to warm up and eat at the Tom Brown Arena near Bayview station, Bernard Grandmaitre Arena on McArthur Avenue and St. Paul's Eastern United Church in Sandy Hill.
People can sleep at the Tom Brown site until further notice.
Luloff didn't say where other alternative beds might be, but the city does sequester hotel rooms to provide alternative shelter for those in need, including families.
"The bottom line is, you do not have to sleep in the cold. We will get you a bed," he promised.
Luloff said outreach teams are actively looking for people who may need help finding a place to stay, but who haven't come asking yet.
The city currently operates physical distancing centres at the Dempsey Community Centre on Russell Road for men, and at 240 Friel St. in Lowertown for women. The city also runs an isolation centre for single homeless people at the Patro d'Ottawa on Cobourg Street.
A shelter at 75 Nicholas St. is currently operating as an isolation centre but will soon transition into another physical distancing centre, according to the city.
"We are also looking to expand that capacity as well," Luloff said, adding that vaccinating people in "congregate settings" is the city's "next priority."
