A meeting will be held on Nov. 6 to help determine a cold weather strategy for the winter. (ID 111163766 © VinhDao | Dreamstime.com)

By paNOW Staff

Warm-up shelter

Meeting to determine cold weather strategy not happening soon enough

Oct 16, 2025 | 11:26 AM

Maj. Ed Dean doesn’t believe in ‘tent cities’ or encampments, but he understands why they happen.

“There’s not enough resources and they’d rather hunker down than move around in the cold.”

Dean, who oversees Prince Albert’s Salvation Army Community Ministries, is concerned about the imminent cold weather and where those seeking shelter, or at least a place to warm up, may go.

“The warming centres are designed to warm up – that’s it. It’s not a place where you can sleep,” said Dean. “Somebody who hasn’t had sleep becomes more irritable. We all know that…watch our children – if they haven’t had sleep, they’re irritable. Somebody that is unhoused is no different. They need a place that they can have a rest.”

As the city works to create a permanent homeless emergency shelter, there are few other options. The YWCA offers shelter for women and youth, but the only option currently available for those seeking shelter from the cold overnight is the Stepping Stones emergency shelter that the Prince Albert Grand Council Urban Services runs under the grandstand on the Exhibition Grounds. It offers 36 beds.

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“And other than that, there’s not a lot of places that they can tuck in and stay warm,” said Dean.

Previously, places like the Salvation Army, Prince Albert Indian and Métis Friendship Centre and the Bernice Sayese Centre all served as warm-up locations.

The City of Prince Albert’s Community Safety and Well-Being Manager, Anna Dinsdale, said the province has confirmed funding for warm-up locations this winter, but it has not yet been established which partners will be able to provide the service.

A meeting is set to take place on Nov. 6 between various community partners that have worked in the past on homeless initiatives.

Dean said, however, these conversations should have happened in April.

“We all know that preparation takes time…training takes time…and if you’re going to have trained staff, then you need to plan ahead.”

Dean’s concern is growing as the nights get colder. He said without proper facilities in place, ‘we are going to lose somebody to the cold.’

“That’s not what we need as a city. These are people, these are people’s family members, and we should be doing the best we can to care for them.”

The 14-day weather forecast shows overnight lows hovering just above 0 °C in Prince Albert. Hypothermia can occur in temperatures as low as 10°C.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com