City of Vancouver opens 2 community centres overnight as emergency warming spaces

The City of Vancouver says it's opening up new emergency overnight spaces for people to protect themselves from a cold snap expected to last until Monday.

The CreeksideCommunity Centre at Olympic Village and the Britannia Community Centre on Commercial Drive will be open overnight on bothSaturday and Sunday until 7 a.m. PT, with support from staff and volunteers.

"The permanent and temporary shelters in Vancouver are at capacity and turning people away, and we need to take further steps to help keep people safe during the cold weather," saidMayor Gregor Robertson in a written statement.

"The city and park board are working closely to do what we can, with the resources we have, to step in and help our most vulnerable residents who have no place to go."

• Vancouver's extreme weather shelters filling up as temperatures plunge

The city says there will not be any beds or cots set up, but people with their own bedding will be able to bring it in. Hot drinks and water will be provided.

Henry McKellar is a binner who stopped in at the Creekside Community Centre Saturday night to grab a coffee and take a shower. He says it provided a much needed escape from the cold weather.

He collects bottles and recycles themto make money tosurvive.

"In the 16 years I've been homeless, this is the worst," he said.

"After the rain and then the cold wind I deeply appreciate it for sure."

Yesterday DJ Larkin, a staff lawyer at Pivot Legal Society,calledon the city to open up community centres and create heating centres where people can get warm anddry.

Park Board Chair Michael Wiebesaid this is the first year the City and the Park Board have used community centres as emergency shelter spaces and he hopes it can happen in the future with more planning.

"Obviously this is a last minute thing that happened today," he said.

"It's great to see that the City and the Park Board is coming together with our community centres."

Friday morning, a51-year old homeless woman in Chilliwack, B.C.,died after a build-up of snow caused her tent to collapse.

And the B.C. Coroners Service iscurrently investigatingtwo deaths in theCariboo-Chilcotinregion and another in the upperFraserValley that may have been caused by the cold weather.

According to the city, there are956 permanent shelter beds in Vancouver and up to 429 additional beds can be made available.

Anyone looking for space can call 211 to see where one may be available.

With files from Gian-Paolo Mendoza