The Battlefords homeless shelter is operated by Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Extreme cold weather strategy

BATC aims to keep homeless sheltered this winter

Nov 6, 2023 | 2:09 PM

The Battlefords homeless shelter, operated by Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC), will help make sure homeless people have a place to go to get out of the cold this winter.

Called “Miwasin Kikinaw,” the emergency shelter is located at 962 – 102nd St., close to downtown North Battleford.

Shelter assistant coordinator Pearl Little noted the shelter is doing well, making sure everyone has a place to stay who needs help.

“We have a lot of clients coming in,” she said. “We’re feeding them, sheltering them, meeting their needs.”

A total of 13 beds are available for men, and nine beds for women. There is also overfill space for about 15 more beds if needed.

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“We are not at capacity right now, but we will be once winter comes and it gets cold,” Little said. “It’s for people who have nowhere to go or are just stuck in the city, that live in different towns and other places. If they are stuck, they can come here.”

The shelter also provides breakfast, lunch and supper, as well as snacks to people staying at the site and for the community.

“Anybody can come and eat here…,” Little said. “We feed the homeless to, give them warm clothing and a place to stay.”

Warm up site

For those still outside during the freezing temperatures to come this winter, the shelter serves as a warm-up site where they can come in from the cold, have a warm drink and stay as long as they like.

“It seems to have been going really good,” Little said. “It’s open 24-seven. We have workers on shift for the three shifts… So there is always somebody here.”

The shelter also operated an outreach service van last winter to check on people outside to make sure they are OK. Little said the organization needs to discuss a plan for this winter.

“We would give out snacks and hot chocolate during certain times of the day,” she said. “We would have staff going out from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day. We used to hand out scarves, mitts, toques. That was an excellent program we had last year.”

The van would also pick up people and take them to the shelter as needed.

People who want to help the needy are welcome to drop off some cold-weather clothing, like coats and boots, at the shelter.

When people need a place to turn to this winter, Little notes, the shelter is always there.

The City of North Battleford is also doing its part to help people as part of the cold weather strategy.

“The cold weather strategy for the city is the same as in other years, with local service agencies and organizations taking the lead to provide these supports for the vulnerable population,” the city said in a statement. “The City assists these organizations when appropriate and possible.”

Battlefords MLA Jeremy Cockrill urged people to use all the emergency support in place during extreme cold temperatures.

“In the Battlefords, we encourage those that need a safe place to stay to either contact the Income Assistance Service Centre during the day or the Battlefords RCMP Detachment after hours or on the weekend,” he said in a statement.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow