Anti-poverty group criticizes Sudbury plan for winter homeless shelter
City of Greater Sudbury takes steps for temporary shelter until Out of the Cold program starts
The City of Greater Sudbury is providing funding to the Elgin Street Mission to extend its hours until the Out of the Cold Shelter is running, but an anti-poverty group says those plans don't go far enough.
The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty said the Out of the Cold Shelter should already be open.
“Until it is, we propose that Tom Davies Square be opened up as an emergency shelter for people where they can actually sleep which they cannot do at the mission” said coalition spokesperson Scott Cunningham.
The group is also calling for a shelter to be open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, instead of just overnight.
“Usually, some of the out-of-the-cold shelters we’ve had in Sudbury have been opened at 8 p.m. and close at 7 a.m.,” he said.
“We can’t control whether frostbite happens between those hours and only those hours.”
The Elgin Street Mission is usually only open overnight when an extreme cold weather alert is in place, meaning the temperature is below -15 C or -20 C, with the wind chill.
Supporting city efforts
Until the Out of the Cold Shelter is open, the mission will stay open from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., seven days a week.
The co-ordinator of shelters and homelessness programs with the city said the Elgin Street Mission approached the city about extending its hours.
“They’re doing it in support of the city because they are supportive that we are opening a program that allows people to sleep,” Gail Spencer said.
“I don’t think it would have been an option if we weren’t actually working so diligently to get an out of the cold shelter program open. However, because we are doing so, then they’re very willing to support us in the meantime.”
Spencer added work is being done at 200 Larch Street, where the Out of the Cold shelter will be located, which is anticipated to open sometime next month.
Cunningham said the coalition also has concerns that the Salvation Army will be running the facility, and said the group would rather see the city staff and run the shelter.
“There are a lot of homeless Aboriginal people here in particular who’ve had negative experiences with the Salvation Army … who have a strong distrust of this organization. They will not use services provided by them.”