No room at the inn: homeless shelters closed

There's been an early start to winter weather on P.E.I., with snow and night temperatures well below freezing, but no place for a homeless man to find a bed.

Both of Charlottetown's shelters for homeless men are closed. The snow still hasn't been cleared from the steps leading to Bedford MacDonald House in Charlottetown. The house has been under renovations for the past six weeks and not taking new guests. The board says it should reopen this week.

The city's other men's shelter, Harvest House, shut its doors in September for what was supposed to be a month. The board now says it's hoping to reopen by January.

The Native Council of P.E.I. held a demonstration Tuesday in downtown Charlottetown to raise money to keep its women's shelter open. Its men's shelter shut down two years ago.

"There's no stable funding," said Chief Jamie Gallant.

"That's why initiatives like this are so important, so that we can generate additional funds to at least cover the costs of the lights and the oil that kind of stuff just the basic necessities."

The situation is no better in Summerside. Harvest House ministries has opened a coffee shop hoping the money it raises there will allow the group to reopen its Summerside shelter. That closed two years ago.

Homelessness has never been considered a major problem on P.E.I., but shelter managers say there is always someone seeking a bed at those places that can manage to keep their doors open.