Outreach workers rush to get homeless people off the streets as polar vortex approaches
With the first significant cold snap of the winter upon us, getting people into a shelter and off the streets can be the difference between life and death.
“The biggest difference is just that danger element of the cold you know. It’s never fun being homeless, it’s not fun being outside when it’s zero degrees but when it’s minus 15, minus 20, it becomes dangerous,” says the coordinator of the Navigator Street Outreach Program, Eric Jonsson.
Michael Kabalen is the executive director of the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia. He says based on their data, there are 799 people experiencing chronic homelessness in Halifax.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean all 799 people are in need of emergency shelter either. People could be couch surfing, they could be living in their cars, they could be living in inadequate housing, so those folks typically have, in this type of weather, a place to go,” Kabalen says.
It’s difficult to put an exact number on how many people are living rough outside. However, as frigid temperatures move in, finding a place out of the cold is difficult.
“We do know all the shelters are effectively full as of last night. There’s a couple of beds here and there but for the most part, the shelters are running full,” says Kabalen.
For the first time this winter, ice is forming in Charlottetown Harbour, an indication of how cold it is. Prince Edward Island’s department of Social Development and Housing is opening shelters and has secured additional beds if shelters reach capacity.
Back in Nova Scotia, Jonsson says there is something people can do to help.
“Checking on people. I think a lot of people in the general public know homeless people in their neighbourhood and they don’t want to bother them or anything like that. But check in on the folks they know who are outside and see if they need anything.
Jonsson says donations of warm clothes, sleeping bags, hats and gloves can be taken to any outreach program in the area.
There is some help coming, although it is down the road. One-hundred-and-two shelter rooms and 60 affordable units will be completed by the end of the year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.