A London woman who has been experiencing homelessness for the past three years is grateful for the services available in the city during the coldest days of the year.

The temperature has been bitterly cold, and while it's warming up Wednesday, it will drop to below -10 C again later in the week.

"There's actually lots of new resources and groups like 519 Pursuit," said Nina Kechego. "That's new to me. Plus, there's London Cares and all these volunteers who come out."

Kechego said she has been sleeping at a friend's house during the cold snap but she says she did go to look at the trailers setup at Fanshawe Golf Course.

That's where the City of London is running its winter shelter system with the help of Impact London. On Tuesday, 27 people were staying there, six short of being at capacity. Residents live in heated, individual trailers and staff are on-site to help secure long-term housing and other social services.

A similar Indigenous-led housing setup, located on the land behind the Parkwood Institute and run by Atlohsa Family Healing Services, had 18 people staying on Tuesday.

"I would suggest not turning down any opportunities, given any offers to get inside," Kechogo said. "To not be scared, you know, because there is help."

Other shelters in London, including the Ark Aid Street Mission, said they've been at capacity this week. Others are struggling with staffing issues as employees and volunteers isolate with COVID-19 symptoms.

"I am feeling in this time, even more than the whole pandemic, how undervalued front line workers are," said Chuck Lazenby, the executive director of Unity Project where five staff are off due to the virus.

On Tuesday around noon, the lineup up with dozens deep outside St. Joseph's Hospitality Centre on Dundas Street. More than 220 lunches were served, with volunteers aware they need to make extra on the coldest days.

"Your body needs calories to burn [to stay warm], so they really can never get enough food into their bodies," said volunteer Jeff Stapleton. "Otherwise, you're going to get frostbite, hypothermia and then, you know, limbs start to go numb and all those kind of bad things.

Stapleton said the centre prepares hot lunches on cold days but with pandemic protocols, all food is passed through a window to people who eat outside.