Don't leave homeless out in the cold: S-CAP

The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) is calling for a replacement space for the homeless following news the Elgin Street Mission is no longer able to stay open 24 hours a day during the winter.

S-CAP members said in a news release they are very alarmed by the fact the mission will only be able to stay open on those nights the city declares a cold-weather alert — when the temperature drops to at least -15 C or -20 with the wind chill.

On all other nights, homeless people will no longer have this shelter and warmth and will have to face the freezing temperatures outside, said S-CAP.

“S-CAP, through our daily contact with and support work for many people living in poverty, is well aware of how getting out of the cold in the Sudbury winter is crucial to the survival of many homeless people,” said Phil Marsh, a member of S-CAP who has undertaken support work for people at Elgin Street Mission and the Samaritan Centre.

“Many nights, up to 20 people, or more, have sought refuge and warmth at the Mission for the past six years. The city cannot leave these homeless people out in the cold. The City has a responsibility to provide warmth and shelter for homeless people in this city.”

To address this urgent situation S-CAP is demanding, first, that at least an equal replacement space for warmth and shelter be immediately provided for homeless people for every night this winter so they are not left out in the cold. Secondly, the city needs more safe and free spaces set up in city shelters, including a ‘wet’ shelter, for those homeless people who drink.

“There are many homeless people in Sudbury who are denied access to the Salvation Army shelter for drinking, drug use and other reasons,” S-CAP said. “There are also homeless people who cannot secure vouchers or permission through Ontario Works, or some of the churches, to be able to stay in the Salvation Army shelter, which, otherwise, usually costs about $25 a night. This is not the kind of funding that homeless people have. There are also others who refuse to stay at this shelter for various reasons.”

To prevent more people from becoming homeless and to allow at least some homeless people to get housing, the city also needs to maintain, and not cut back, funding for the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) program and keep them at the same levels and under the same policies as under the previous Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) program which the province cut on Jan. 1, 2013, says S-CAP.

“We are looking forward to immediate action from the city on these urgent matters. The homeless cannot be left out in the cold.”