Since cold weather hit the region last week, an extreme-weather shelter in Victoria has been taking in more people than it has mats for, leaving some to bundle up in blankets on the floor.
The Salvation Army is operating what’s considered a 30-bed space at 525 Johnson St. but has taken in up to 41 people while record-breaking low temperatures continue, said Brenda Wadey, manager of housing and social supports. The shelter, which opens during periods of extreme weather such as cold, snow or heavy rain, opened Jan. 6 and has been running overnight since. That first night saw just eight people, Wadey said.
As more people learned it was open, however, the mats filled up, and by Thursday night, 38 people had sought shelter at the facility as the arctic front settled in, she said. “On these really cold nights, we can’t let people stay outside.” People were grateful to get out of the cold and most bundled up and went to sleep quickly, she said.
Once the facility was full, staff shuttled newcomers where possible to a warming centre set up by the city at Cook Street Village Activity Centre, Wadey said.
There were no reports of frostbite and no ambulance calls to the shelter, she said.
Wadey said she expects the extreme-weather shelter will remain open tonight, before warmer weather hopefully begins to arrive on Wednesday.
The city opened its Cook Street warming centre Friday to operate during the day and overnight in extreme weather.
The warming centre was at capacity with 33 people Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and no one was turned away, city spokesperson Colleen Mycroft said. During daytime hours, it saw steady numbers of between 15 and 22 people, she said.
Victoria police were out visiting encampments with bylaw officers over the weekend to ensure people were OK and to let them know about open shelters, VicPD said. Bylaw officers also gave out hand warmers and socks.
In Nanaimo, people taking shelter in a warming centre at 2025 Bowen Rd. were forced to evacuate to two other facilities when burst pipes flooded out their space on Saturday.
As water poured down from the upper level, staff helped people outside and Regional District of Nanaimo transit buses carried them to either the Island Crisis Care Society’s Samaritan Place on Nicol Street or the warming centre at the 7-10 Club Society’s rented building on Victoria Road.
The Crisis Care society is one of three organizations running warming centres in Nanaimo, where the unhoused population is estimated to be about 500 to 800. It owns the flooded building, which was insured.
Three floods hit the building, one on Saturday and two more on Sunday, when the fire-suppression-system pipes burst, Violet Hayes, executive director of the Crisis Care Society, said Monday.
Samaritan Place can take about 30 people and a similar number are at the 7-10 centre. As temperatures dropped, hours for the city’s warming centres have been extended.
Hayes is hoping the Bowen Road facility will be open again on Tuesday. Those working on remediation have been told the warming-centre portion of the property is a priority given that snow and freezing rain are forecast.
City of Nanaimo community safety officers were on site within minutes of the first flood, caring for people waiting for the buses outdoors and bringing them hot chocolate, said Hayes, who praised Island Health staff for stepping up to help.
Karren Kossey, president of Restoration Network, said 10 workers were on the site on Saturday, staying until 1:30 a.m. Sunday cleaning up. A truck with a tank used a large hose to suck water out of the building. Multiple dehumidifiers and fans were put into service.
Her workers were back on site Sunday and Monday and expect to be there today as well.
Other Nanaimo buildings have been dealing with burst pipes, keeping restoration businesses in the city busy, Kossey said.
Island Health said from Jan. 11 through Jan. 14, about seven people sought medical attention at Island emergency departments due to the extreme cold, mostly due to hypothermia. None of the cases resulted in hospital admissions, the health authority said.
— with a file from Cindy Harnett
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