How these Saskatoon supports are helping the city's most vulnerable in winter

Saskatoon has been pummeled by harsh winter weather over the past couple days which has brought up conversations around the city's homeless population.

There are at least 550 people experiencing homelessness in Saskatoon, according to Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership's most recent point in time count on homelessness in April.

That population includes people in 52 of the city's 65 neighborhoods who sleep outside in makeshift shelters, according to Saskatoon fire Chief Morgan Hackl.

Over the weekend, the city activated its cold weather emergency response plan, which includes the fire and emergency department scanning the city to make sure people aren't outside in the extreme cold.

The aim of the plan is to provide support via emergency overnight shelters, warm-up locations, outreach services and cold weather clothing and blankets.

LISTEN | Saskatoon fire chief explains how crews scan city to make sure people aren't outside in extreme cold:

"We went out where we normally find people and they weren't there," Hackl told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning host Leisha Grebinski.

"I think that is a good sign in terms of a number of people were in shelters — they were likely couch-surfing or found a place to stay."

Hackl noted that they went to places that homeless people normally sleep, but they can't scan every block of the city.

New 24/7 warming service coming to Saskatoon

Starting Dec. 14, Prairie Harm Reduction's drop-in centre in Pleasant Hill will be a 24/7 warm-up location. It won't lock its doors until March 31.

Prairie Harm Reduction executive director Kayla DeMong says it's a service the community has needed for a long time.

"We've seen people lined up at the doors first thing in the morning when we arrived and really struggling to leave when we are currently closing," DeMong told Saskatoon Morning.

"We are really grateful that we're able to expand our hours and provide this vital service to our community."

DeMong said Prairie Harm Reduction received funding from the Saskatoon Housing Initiative Partnership to expand its hours amid increased demand for a place to warm up in the city.

The drop-in centre currently operates from 10 a.m to to 10:30 p.m. CST. With the expanded hours, it will have support workers working around the clock who will be able to provide counselling and service navigation around the warm-up locations — but there aren't staff to ensure safe consumption.

"It's been no secret that we've been trying to get 24-hour funding for our safe consumption site since we opened it two years ago," DeMong said. "This funding does not fund the safe consumption site, that's still separate."

Saskatoon's unconventional warming centre

Ralph Nicotine, a Saskatoon-based hip-hop artist who goes by Biz Nico, has repurposed an old school bus into a mobile warming location.

People can find Nicotine driving along 20th Street or parked outside the City Centre Church and the Westwood Funeral Home from 11 p.m. to around 5 a.m., providing a place to warm up, along with winter clothing and hot soup.

He runs the the service Monday to Saturday.

Nicotine says he and an volunteer serve anywhere from 70 to 100 bowls of soup per night. He also tries to help people find space in a shelter.

"At night time it's surprisingly pretty warm here with all the bodies," Nicotine told Saskatoon Morning's Candice Lipski on his bus.

Nicotine started up the service to provide an after-hours warming service to people who need it.

In November, Saskatoon police found a frozen body outside City Centre Church. Nicotine hopes his service means they won't find another one in the city.

"If we could be that help for them, to be a safe place for people to warm up so there's no more deaths … [and] if we could even save one life, that would be great."

Legacy Bus donated the bus to Nicotine. He says it costs $350 a night to run the bus, including the expenses of making the food, diesel and propane use.

Nicotine is in his second week of operating the bus and accepts donations.