The conversation surrounding warming centres was at the heart of the Saskatoon city council meeting Wednesday.
With winter in full force, the city is rushing to get the facilities up and running.
The total funding needed is estimated at $1.2 million to help with three warming shelters in the city this winter.
“The donations and the funding we have to date combined comes to $1 million. So, that does leave us with a gap,” Lesley Anderson, the Saskatoon director of planning and development, said.
City council unanimously approved to fund the remaining $200,000 gap on Wednesday. The money will come from the capital expenditures reserve.
Now Saskatoon’s emergency management organization is hoping to make rapid progress on getting these warming locations operational.
“On Monday night at the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre, they had 260 people seeking warmup there,” Pamela Goulden-McLeod, the Saskatoon director of emergency management, said.
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“Last year at our peak we were seeing 230 to 240 people. All of our partners and all of our emergency services have talked about the growing need.”
The cost to run the overnight warming shelters will add up to an expected $1.2 million, with most of the money coming from both the provincial and federal governments, as well as non-profit organizations and private donors.
Goulden-McLeod said about $630,000 has been budgeted for the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre, while $356,000 will go to the Salvation Army to run the St. Mary’s men’s overnight warming station, and just over $100,000 will be provided to Sawēyihtotān for overnight outreach services.
Goulden-McLeod explained that the budget also includes food that would be needed at each location, including soup meals and breakfast in the mornings at the friendship centre and breakfast at St. Mary’s.
When it comes to the navigation centre approach, the city hopes it helps people get to the right spaces needed for help.
“It might be working with income support or the Saskatoon Tribal Council to help them get back to their community,” Goulden-McLeod said. “It could be that there’s been some kind of an issue where they need some support navigating back to their family. ‘What do you need’ is how the service providers approach it.”
The Salvation Army executive director Gordon Taylor said help is always needed in the winter.
“We can always use donations of winter clothing, especially the things that are lost easily like toques, gloves and we can always use socks,” Gordon Taylor, the Salvation Army executive director, said.
Starting on Sunday, St. Mary’s men’s shelter will be open from 11 p.m. until 8 a.m.
The Indian and Métis Friendship Centre will operate its evening warming location from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., while the women’s warming location found at the friendship centre will operate from 11 p.m. until 9 a.m.
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