Temporary warming space set up after woman found unresponsive in bus shelter

An organization aimed at ending homelessness says more resources are needed to protect folks from the extreme cold after a woman was found unresponsive in a St. Boniface bus shelter this week.

St. Boniface Street Links said its outreach crew discovered the woman in a shelter near Tache Avenue and Goulet Street on Monday afternoon.

She was taken to hospital by paramedics in critical condition.

Ryan Lampertz, a registered social worker with St. Boniface Street Links, said the issue is nothing new.

“This has been happening for several years in winters in Winnipeg, and it points to a need for warming shelters in this area of the city,” he said.

He adds the city should move away from only providing crisis-based solutions and instead, address the root issues of homelessness and ongoing needs.

“That’s where we would have a larger discussion about mental health services, addiction services, and all kinds of other various social determinants of health,” he said.

“Those are larger social issues that then appear as homelessness when those needs go unmet for a long period of time.”

A spokesperson for Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham told CTV News in an email a city-owned space on St. Mary’s Road is now being used as a temporary safe warming shelter, after the city was approached by Street Links about a lack of these shelters on the east side of the Red River.

It is being staffed by Street Links, and a dozen people visited the space Tuesday night.

It is not a walk-up facility, the spokesperson said, meaning Street Links has been picking people up from the street and transporting them to the shelter.

“This is a temporary solution, as this building was the quickest option for opening a warming shelter (Tuesday). We’ll be working with SBSL to identify optimal locations for the future,” the spokesperson said.

The city also told CTV News in a statement, members of the public who need a temporary reprieve from the cold can come in and warm up in civic facilities during regular operating hours.

It also said the city is in contact with End Homelessness Winnipeg and other sheltering partners regularly to identify needs and to support the community as needed.

SHELTERS FILL UP AMID COLD SNAP

Meantime, End Homelessness Winnipeg launched its winter weather response as shelters filled up during this week’s extreme cold snap.

The plan involves three major components – a 24-hour outreach van, a fund for extreme weather events and pop-up community camps.

As wind chill values dipped as low as -40 overnight this week, many shelters filled up.

“We saw a number of shelters reach capacity and then had to find kind of creative ways to get folks into lobbies of shelters or things like that, so there was space to warm up and keep folks out of the elements,” said Jamie Mahmood, executive director of Main Street Project.

Mahmud notes if Winnipeggers see someone in distress due to the weather they should contact Main Street Project's outreach van at 204-431-2728.

- With files from Michael D'Alimonte and Carie Wilson