Shelter forced out of wind-damaged church getting help from other shelters
Anjuli Patil | CBC News | Posted: March 14, 2018 8:07 PM | Last Updated: March 14, 2018
Steeple blew off St. Matthews United Church, which forced people to be evacuated from the shelter
Homeless shelters around Halifax are offering help to the Out of the Cold Emergency Shelter after the steeple above the church where it's housed blew off during a nor'easter early Wednesday morning.
Guests at the 15-bed shelter had to be evacuated from St. Matthews United Church after the steeple fell. It, along with other debris, fell near the entrance.
"It crashed into the gate and caused quite a bit of damage. It is a safety risk for our guests to walk up and down the stairs to the entrance of our shelter," Rebecca Whitzman, shelter co-ordinator and case manager, told CBC's Mainstreet.
She said she's been getting calls all day from other shelters asking what they can do to help.
"We have such great partnerships with the other shelters and they were really enthusiastic about helping us," said Whitzman.
While she hopes the shelter will reopen by Monday, she said there is a lot of clean up that needs to happen first.
"[The steeple is] blocking the entrance of our shelter and there's also a lot of flying debris and pieces hanging off the roof that will need to be cleared off," said Whitzman.
In the meantime, she said other organizations like the Salvation Army have stepped in to help.
"As we've done in the past, we've opened up our doors for some of their residents. My understanding is that we're going to be taking in 10 individuals," said Salvation Army spokesperson Jamie Locke.
He said the Canadian Red Cross is supplying cots and blankets. Locke said some Out of the Cold staff will be around to help with the extra people. He said the Salvation Army will continue to help as long as they're needed.