Carmichael Outreach ready to help vulnerable people ahead of heat wave

As the mercury rises in thermometers around the province, community organizations are doing what they can to keep Regina’s most vulnerable safe.

Chrysta Garner is the development coordinator for Carmichael Outreach.

“We encourage people to come cool down,” she said. “Let’s get you water and what you need. We have an outdoor water fountain that is accessible 24-7 it’s located on the east side of our building in the patio area so it’s nice and shady over there.”

Carmichael is a non-profit organization. It assists people living in homelessness and poverty.

“We’re a sanctuary or respite for anybody that needs to come in,” she said.

“We have multiple (programs) available that we can offer for assistance. We also have a lot of newcomers that come through our door. It’s mainly just directing them in the right areas. The staff here are very knowledgeable on what resources are available within the city — if we don’t have the resources here we will point you in the right direction.”

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Thursday morning, Garner met with other community organizations ahead of the heat wave about to hit the city.

“What we do is we try to find the best solutions for what we need,” she said.

“We all come forward with our ideas and also we give an update on what each organization is doing. The city is making sure that their cooling spaces are up and running and that they’re accessible. There are a couple other organizations that are going around passing around water bottles within encampments, freezie and sandwiches.”

Organizations across the city are all accepting different donations – Carmichael is looking for water bottles, either reusable or plastic. The water bottles can be new or used.

“We’ve got the capability of cleaning them up if they need to be cleaned up,” she said.

“New ones are best but we don’t always have that option. Another organization asked to make sure that sunscreen is a donation and if it is sunscreen to make sure that it’s not expired,” she said. “(They also asked for) proper hats and water bottles that can be re-used on a regular basis so that someone can clip them on their backpack and carry it a lot easier.”

Garner said Carmichael is always looking for volunteers to donate their time as well.

She said the building sees up to 400 people a day, serving anywhere between 200-300 meals every day.

A lot of people use the building to escape extreme weather like heat, rain or the cold as well.

“They come inside and they just seek sanctuary just out of the elements,” she said. “We have a lot of people who will sit down and have a rest. That’s the key important thing, that we have a safe and inviting place for people no matter what the situation is.”

Carmichael closes at 4:00 p.m. but Garner said there are other places people can go.

“We would love to be open 24-7,” she said. “Someday, somehow we’ll make that happen. But, in the meantime, yes we close at 4:00 p.m. We just encourage people to find that next place. There is a survival guide that the City of Regina and Dr. Marc Spooner have put out. Just seek somewhere that you feel safe.”