Carmichael Outreach needs funding for warming centre

With Regina in the throes of winter and the mercury firmly planted in the negatives, a group is calling on Carmichael Outreach to immediately open up a 24-hour warming centre.

But the charity organization said it’s not a simple task to implement such a program.

“The notion of operating the overnight centre as proposed by the group today is a cherished aspiration of Carmichael Outreach Inc., but the current reality is that this objective is beyond our immediate reach pending the development of the necessary capacity,” Tyler Gelsinger, Carmichael’s executive director, said Thursday.

“It is important to acknowledge to initiate this immediately is not as straightforward as people may suggest. It would require dedicated staff rather than slowly relying on volunteers. Carmichael has been working with local churches through the warm welcome collaboration and communicating with various partners to get something like this started.”

The group Good Trouble Network YQR called on Carmichael Outreach to immediately open up the warming centre, claiming it “meets their mission and how they aim to deliver services.”

Tiro Mthembu, a community organizer who works with the group, believes the need is there and help needs to come right away for homeless people in the community before there are more deaths due to the cold.

“I feel strongly they could open now. It just comes down to us working together as a community to seek out further funding. It just comes down to political will,” Mthembu said. “I think we would love nothing more than to work in co-ordination.

“We saw with the encampment in the summer and the outpouring of support by a community that has not stopped. Carmichael is an important pillar of our community. They do amazing work and we want to help uplift and make sure this happens so we can save as many lives as we can.

“Many community members have been going out by themselves overnight doing outreach so we already have an existing volunteer group that is ready to be enacted here. We look forward to further conversations with Carmichael and we ask all folks to pressure – call your councillors (and) call your MLAs. Let’s make this happen and save people.”

Carmichael Outreach needs about $350,000 in order to provide an overnight warming centre. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

Gelsinger said it would take about $350,000 to get the program started to help hire staff for the centre and provide the necessary resources. Carmichael Outreach is seeking that funding through various grants.

“It’s always come down to funding and what is within our reach. Just at this time, we just don’t have the startup means for something like that,” Gelsinger said. “To get a grant of that size, it is hard and challenging. It does take time no matter who you are trying to apply that grant for.”

Gelsinger said if Carmichael got the funding, it could have an overnight warming centre opened from February to May for seven days a week from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“This is for the immediate need,” Gelsinger said. “Right now, the need is where are people going after the shelters are full. Right now, they are wandering downtown or they are trying to get to the North Central (warming centre) but that’s a walk and they are full too.

“We do already have a plan in place so if someone did just donate $350,000 to us, we’re pretty much ready to go through with the whole hiring process and just getting the training going. Until then, there’s just not much we can do at this time.”

Gelsinger said the current trends indicate more people are in need of Carmichael’s services. He noted the centre dished out more than 400 meals at its Christmas dinner.

Mthembu said his group wants to work with Carmichael to help secure the funding.

“Let’s make it happen. Let’s publicly advocate together and let’s get this funding. Let’s do it now. Let us not continue to be thankful that the weather is nice, let us act with the urgency this situation and crisis asks for,” Mthembu said.

“I hope the mayor can come to the table and we plead with all levels of government. I don’t have too much faith in (Social Services Minister) Gene Makowsky. He has failed us time and time again to grasp what kind of crisis we are in. But we are willing to work with anybody to solve this problem.

“It comes down to the funding on the government side of it. I want to emphasize that Carmichael does important work for the community and we want to work with in solidarity and alleviate the stresses that they face.”

NDP Social Services Critic Meara Conway released a statement about the funding for Carmichael on Thursday afternoon.

“After 16 years of Sask. Party government, homelessness is out of control in many of our large centres,” she wrote. “If Premier (Scott) Moe and Minister Makowsky aren’t going to do something about the Sask. Party’s taxes on food and fuel or the SIS program – all of which is making homelessness worse – the least they can do is listen to the Regina community and support this overnight warming space.”

Asked by 980 CJME to comment on the matter, the Ministry of Social Services responded with an emailed statement.

“The Ministry of Social Services is a partner in the City of Regina’s Cold Weather Strategy,” the statement read. “The City of Regina will be providing more details regarding a warming space once they become available.”