Letter: Emergency shelter open, but concerns persist

After weeks of protest and organizing by the Sudbury Coalition (S-CAP) and others the city finally set the date for the opening of the Out of the Cold Shelter for today, Dec. 1.

While it is still not clear why the shelter, which should have been open in early November, is only being opened today, aside from the low priority given to the homeless by the city, this is an important step forward for homeless people who have been left out in the cold by the city.

While S-CAP welcomes the opening of the Out of the Cold Shelter, we continue to raise the concerns and needs of the homeless people we talked to about their experiences with the pilot project last winter.

Their two major concerns were:

1) That the shelter needs to be open for more extended hours (preferably on a 24-hour basis), since it is very cold during the day in the winter and shelter and warmth are required at these times as well.

2) That there needs to be staff not from the Salvation Army given that many homeless people have had problems with the Salvation Army and its staff. Salvation Army staffing means that some homeless people will not feel safe going to the Out of the Cold Shelter. That the Red Cross is providing staff for the first three nights for the shelter opens up other possibilities. In many centres, such as in Toronto, it is city workers who staff most of the shelters.

S-CAP will be monitoring the situation with the shelter, and if problems arise, we will be raising them with the city.

Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty members