Getting out of the cold
Push on for permanent warming centres...
It’s possible some local nonprofit organizations may apply to become warming centres for those in need.
“We need to speak to some of our local non-profit organizations and they’ll have to apply, this summer, if we want to have these centres up and running,” said Mayor Jim Diodati.
“The Region will help fund part of it, but they need to apply in advance and we didn’t have any apply this year.”
Diodati said he was at a regional public health meeting Tuesday and was told they would be “happy to do it if we’ve got some groups that are willing to take it on.”
During his mayor’s announcements at Tuesday’s council meeting, Diodati credited the River of Life Church on Dunn Street, which agreed to host a temporary overnight shelter, and the Salvation Army for opening its doors to people in Niagara Falls who were “looking to eat or sleep or get warm or get whatever care they were looking for” when bitter-cold temperatures recently gripped the community.
He also thanked Coun. Carolynn Ioannoni for her involvement in overseeing a co-ordinated effort to help the homeless.
River of Life began offering emergency accommodation on New Year’s Eve when temperatures plummeted to -27 C. The service continued for several days.
As part of a community-led effort to offer overnight shelter, Ioannoni accompanied volunteers on a mobile outreach truck to distribute clothing and blankets to the city’s homeless.
She said residents “flooded” her email, Facebook profile and phone indicating they wanted to “bring donations” and help out.
“Thanks to the generosity of this entire community, we were able to feed people and blanket people and give them clothes and do outreach on trucks and make sure that they got emergency packages.”
Ioannoni said the recent frigid weather conditions reflected the need for the city to have its own overnight facility.
“I know the city has an emergency management plan, and I was just wondering, when it gets that cold and they start to give out those alerts, perhaps we could … have something that triggers a rotation in the churches, communities and warming centres. Right now everybody is coming together to say if we have that same spell again, we’re already setting them up now in a group outside, so maybe we can have something that’s formal next year, so that people aren’t scrambling.”
Ioannoni said there are groups willing to take on the responsibility of being warming centres.
Currently, overnight accommodation is offered through Out of the Cold at various churches in St. Catharines. Free transportation is provided to anyone across Niagara in need of emergency shelter.
Ioannoni said while the ability is there to “taxi our homeless” to St. Catharines, it’s not ideal.
“Homeless have a community, too, they have their own network, their own newsline — it’s not telephone, it’s not the Internet, but they seem to have a network, so they knew where we were,” she said.
“When we send them to St. Catharines, the challenge is, while they are homeless, this is still their community, and their network of friends and supporters are here, and it’s coming back here that becomes the challenge for them. We really need to find something that’s in Niagara Falls proper, and we’re not farming it out.”
While the Region is responsible for managing overnight emergency shelters, most municipalities have designated warming centres available to anyone who needs a place to keep warm and escape the exceptionally cold temperatures.
For example, Niagara Falls recently opened its Gale Centre, MacBain Community Centre, library branches, and city hall.
Diodati said the Region’s goal is to help homeless people get permanent housing, and sometimes it takes extreme cold days to have those people come in and talk to officials.
“(Regional officials) said it’s a good opportunity for us to reach out to some of these people that need help,” he said.
Diodati said while Niagara Falls has places for women and children (YWCA and Women’s Place of South Niagara), and a place for men under 30 (Nightlight Youth Services), the city doesn’t currently have a place for men over 30.
“(The Region) said the good thing about having organized, pre-planned centres, they have the right regional services who will get to them with social services, and if it’s a mental-health issue, if it’s an addiction issue, whatever the issue, they’ve got the staff that can come in and help them.”
For more information about available services, visit niagarafalls.ca or niagararegion.ca.