Snow hits Saskatoon while shelter and warm-up plans still unknown

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A report on Saskatoon’s updated cold weather strategy and warming locations will not be presented to city council until next week.

Meanwhile, shovels and plows are busy digging out of the first major snowfall of the winter.

The report should be on the agenda for council’s Nov. 27 meeting, which is expected to become public around 4 p.m. Wednesday, giving the public its first look at the new plan.

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City staff said The Mustard Seed’s downtown temporary shelter is still expected to open its doors sometime this winter. The non-profit’s website says the 30-40 bed temporary shelter at 210 Pacific Avenue does not provide a specific date.

The search for longer-term sites to fulfill a provincial government contract continues.

The Mustard Seed is also providing property management for the former Lighthouse building, offering wrap-around supports for up to 60 people to help them transition into sustainable housing. That project has an official start date of Dec. 1.

The Starphoenix has requested comment from The Mustard Seed but has not yet received a response.

The threat of snow has been looming in Saskatoon for weeks while an unprecedented number of people have been living outdoors in improvised encampments scattered around the city.

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand has been critical of the lack of preparation, noting that things should have been ready by September.

“People are suffering outside, and that’s not right,” Arcand said in early November, adding that a lack of funding limits the operating times and space that shelters in the city can provide.

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“Whether it’s daytime, evening, it’s still cold outside. If people don’t have proper footwear or proper jackets, we’re putting them in danger.”

Pamela Goulden-MacLeod, the city’s director of emergency management, has said the city is working on a phased-in, navigation centre approach. Work began in May, but the growing level of need in the city meant that a better plan was needed for the community, Goulden-MacLeod said.

An updated list of warm-up locations and shelters was to be available sometime last week, but still has not been released.

Goulden-MacLeod noted the provincial social services ministry has emergency after-hours service operated by the Salvation Army, and can be the first place people look for social services.

A list of organizations taking donations in Saskatoon can be found at onesmallstep.com.

A point-in-time homelessness count is underway and is expected to continue until Nov. 30.

Data from the last count in 2022 showed 550 people in the city facing homelessness, including 26 children and 84 youth. Organizations working with the homeless population say that number has likely increased.

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