Anti-poverty group criticizes Sudbury plan for winter homeless shelter

The City of Greater Sudbury is providing funding to the Elgin Street Mission to extend its hours until the Out of the Cold Shelter is running, but an anti-poverty group says those plans don't go far enough.

TheSudburyCoalition Against Poverty said the Out of the Cold Shelter should already be open.

Until it is, we propose that Tom Davies Square be opened up as an emergency shelter for people where they can actually sleep which they cannot do at the mission said coalition spokespersonScott Cunningham.

• Shelters may not be ideal, but they need to be open now: advocate

The group is also calling for a shelter to be open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, instead of just overnight.

Usually, some of the out-of-the-cold shelters weve had inSudburyhave been opened at 8 p.m.and close at 7 a.m., he said.

We cant control whether frostbite happens between those hours and only those hours.

The Elgin Street Mission is usually only open overnight when an extreme cold weather alert is in place, meaning the temperature is below -15 C or -20 C,with the wind chill.

Supporting city efforts

Until the Out of the Cold Shelter is open, the mission will stay open from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., seven days a week.

The co-ordinator of shelters and homelessness programs with the city said the Elgin Street Mission approached the city about extending its hours.

Theyre doing it in support of the city because they are supportive that we are opening a program that allows people to sleep, Gail Spencer said.

I dont think it would have been an option if we werent actually working so diligently to get an out of the cold shelter program open. However, because we are doing so, then theyre very willing to support us in the meantime.

Spencer added work is being done at 200 Larch Street, where the Out of the Cold shelter will be located, which is anticipated to open sometime next month.

Cunningham said the coalition also has concerns that the Salvation Army will be running the facility, and said the group would rather see the city staff and run the shelter.

There are a lot of homeless Aboriginal people here in particular whove had negative experiences with the Salvation Army who have a strong distrust of this organization.They will not use services provided by them.