Safe Harbour mats facility (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Sheldon Spackman

Staying Warm

No one turned away during cold snap, says Safe Harbour

Jan 15, 2020 | 3:12 PM

Red Deerians seem to be pulling together to make sure the city’s homeless and at-risk population are staying warm during the current cold snap.

That according to Kath Hoffman, executive director at Safe Harbour Society where those without a place to stay during the extreme cold can go in and warm up, with no one turned away.

“Both the City and the Province have been checking in with us to make sure we have what we need, and so far, we’re doing OK,” says Hoffman. “We’re getting people in, even if it is just to warm-up, cause there’s not enough room to sleep. We’re making sure they can come in and be warm.”

Hoffman says the situation once again highlights the dire need for a new shelter in Red Deer.

“The community has been awesome,” she exclaims. “They’re phoning and making sure, do we need anything? We’ve gotten lots of donations of clothes and hats and mitts and gloves, so I think we’re good as far as all of that goes right now.”

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Hoffman estimates between 120-150 people per day are currently coming into the Winter Warming Centre at Safe Harbour.

“About 56 people were sheltering at night at our place, and the Mustard Seed is sheltering about 46, I think,” adds Hoffman. “So far, we’re handling things. It’s funny how the lower the temperatures get, the warmer people’s hearts become, and we’re certainly seeing that with our community response.”

Hoffman admits it’s no surprise that they are dealing with larger numbers than in years past.

“We have more people out there because of not just this cold crisis, but the addictions crisis, which doesn’t go away when the temperature comes up,” she explains.

“Because we have so many under the influence, if we get a sober guy show up, we’ll phone the Mustard Seed and taxi them over there in this weather,” says Hoffman. “They’re taking the sober crowd, so if that’s the case, we’re going back and forth. RCMP are helping us too when they can.”

Hoffman says she’s very proud and appreciative of all the help they receive from the public and their community partners in showing compassion to those who need it the most.

“I think it’s important to remember that for us, the crisis is every night,” she exclaims. “Whether it’s cold or not, there’s a lot of people in need, and we really need our community support when it does come time for a new build. We need people to stand behind us so that when times like this happen, we’ve got what we need inside, cause addiction doesn’t know how cold it is out.”