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With overnight lows dipping to the -20 range, service providers responded.
"We saw the weather coming and fast-tracked the intake and filled-up the 40," said Jason Siebenga at the Welcome Inn at the Metro Community Church in Kelowna. The 40 he refers to is the capacity of the new shelter, but the operators of the shelter didn't stop there. They made their nearby cafe available to people who need a way to get out of the cold.
"On Sunday night we opened Metro Central and had a group of volunteers come in and do an overnight shift," he explained. Siebenga said his group has been in contact with their partners at the Salvation Army which was better able to offer suitable emergency space. "There's been mats laid down with volunteers from Welcome Inn."
"There's no way we're going to turn people away when it gets that cold," said Siebenga. "We had a number of people coming in throughout that night extremely desperate."
It was the following day that KelownaNow encountered James McGillivary, who stayed outside by choice. It turns out, Siebenga had paid him a visit the night before.
"We went out, saw him, had a few other people who had a relationship go out, talk to some friends and said, 'is he good, let's make sure,'" he said.
Even though shelters like the Welcome Inn may be at capacity, Siebenga wants people to know that no one is being forced to sleep outside in these temperatures.
"There's humans at the doors of the shelters," he said. "There is a place, and that right now is the Salvation Army, where people won't be turned away."
Overnight lows tonight are expected to be slightly higher, at -13.
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