As winter nears, homeless may be left out in the cold
By Chad Paulin
Ottawa has yet to be blasted by winter’s coldest temperatures, but already the city’s shelters for the homeless are bursting at the seams.
Workers at four inner-city shelters — three for men, one for women — say they’re already full and anticipate even more demand when the cold weather strikes.
“There’s been a higher demand all year,” says Diane Morrison, director of the Union Mission on Waller Street in Lowertown. “It’s not going to stop in winter — there’s always an increase in winter.”
She adds that with all of the shelter’s 103 beds filled, extra mats have been ordered to handle the anticipated overload.
“Many wait until it’s too cold to stay outside with a blanket and pillow,” she says. “We’re prepared for an extra 30 or so, but beyond that there’s only so many you can fit on the floor.”
Ottawa’s situation is one that is being played out across the country. Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary all report a higher-than-usual demand on emergency shelter space.
“I think we could be on the verge of a crisis in terms of shortage of space,” says Rob Eady, who manages the 74-bed Shepherd’s of Good Hope shelter on Murray Street, echoing workers in the other three cities.
Meanwhile, Connie Woloschuk, director of the 108-bed Salvation Army men’s shelter on George Street, says she is seeing “a lot of new faces” in the shelter.
“It’s a concern and it’s exhausting all of us right now,” she says. “I don’t want to fear-monger about it, but there’s a possibility that we may come down to the end of our extra mattresses even.”
But a regional official downplays the concern.
Luc Legault, Ottawa-Carleton’s director of residential services, says it’s not unusual for the shelters to be full at this time of year.
Admitting there’s a slight increase in the number of homeless from last year, he says the region is “monitoring the situation” and will work with shelters to find additional space if it’s needed.
Sue Langlois, who runs the Women’s Shelter on O’Connor Street, says it’s the worst year for demand since the emergency shelter opened in 1984.
With the shelter’s 39 beds filled for much of the year, Langlois blames one key factor for the increased demand.
“The problem isn’t with individual people, but we live in a city without enough affordable housing,” she says, adding that cuts to social assistance have increased the demand for permanent housing as people seek cheaper dwellings.
Morrison echoes this concern.
“There’s not adequate housing out there,” she says. “We’ve been trying to get people into rooming houses, but many of those are full also.”
Other workers, however, place the blame on decreased funding for hospital and social services.
Eady says such cuts “may have taken a few years to filter through the system” before affecting those who depend on shelters.
As a result, some mentally ill patients have lost their support system such as social workers, Eady says, leaving them confused and on the streets.
“It’s a sad commentary on society when the number of homeless people is increasing, and many are turning to drugs or showing signs of mental illness.”