Sadly, need for Out of the Cold shelter not going away

On any given night during the winter, 20 to 45 people will visit the Salvation Army's Out of the Cold shelter on Larch Street.

“I'm just amazed there are still so many people using it,” said Cindy, a manager at Cedar Place, the Salvation Army's shelter for women and families. She asked NorthernLife.ca not use her last name.

The city first provided funding for the shelter – thanks to provincial and federal grants – in 2013 on a pilot basis.

“It was a need that was identified in our community through various consultations,” said Gail Spencer, the City of Greater Sudbury's co-ordinator of shelters and homelessness programs.

The Salvation Army was the city's main partner for the service from the start, and manages the shelter, located at 200 Larch St.

This winter, the shelter opened on Nov. 1, 2015 and will close on April 15.

Last winter, between Dec. 4, 2014 and March 31, 2015, there were 4,430 visits to the shelter, representing on average 36 people per night.

The Out of the Cold Emergency shelter program adds around 35 cots to the existing 69 emergency shelter beds the city funds for men, women and children, and youth.

In addition to her surprise at the number of people who use the shelter, Cindy said she was also shocked by how many youth, between the ages of 16 and 19, need the shelter every night.

A recent Laurentian University study found the city's homeless population has more than doubled since 2009.

From Jan. 28, to Feb. 3, 2015, Laurentian University's project on Poverty, Homelessness and Migration in Northern Ontario worked with 34 agencies, programs and frontline services in Greater Sudbury to count the city's homeless population and outline the root causes of homelessness.

The study found 1,540 people in Greater Sudbury were either homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless during the period.

Around 30 per cent of those counted – 455 people – were absolutely homeless, while the remaining 1,085 people lived in precarious situations and were at risk of becoming homeless.

Contrary to many other shelters, Out of the Cold offers a low-barrier shelter, meaning anyone can spend the night, even if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“I have to give kudos to the staff that is there,” Cindy said. “It takes a lot of patience to do what they do.”

While people do sometimes show up under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Cindy said altercations are a rare occurrence.

The people who stay at the shelter generally get along, she said, and staff are trained to calm people down if they become agitated.

With early January's cold weather, the shelter, along with the city's Extreme Cold Weather Alert Program, which provides temporary protection from the elements on days colder than -15 C, are expected to be in constant need.