A homeless person sleeps in the cold in Prince Albert. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Warm up shelter

Warm-up shelter expected to be running in Prince Albert by mid-December

Nov 14, 2025 | 6:00 AM

A supplemental service for people living with no shelter in Prince Albert should be operational by Dec. 15, according to information that will go before city council on Monday.

The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation will give the city $260,000 as a one-time grant for the 2025-26 winter season.

“The funding is intended to provide warm spaces for individuals experiencing homelessness, including access to overnight shelter. City administration is actively collaborating with partner organizations to deliver this service and anticipates that a location will be operational by December 15, 2025,” reads the agenda package.

No location has been confirmed yet, but the city operated a similar service last year with a smaller grant of $150,000.

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It ran from Jan. 2 to April 26 between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., with an average nightly attendance of just over 40 people. The lowest number was 16 and the busiest night saw 61 people spend the night.

The average cost/visit is $35.54. At least one senior citizen used the warmup shelter every night.

Unlike a regular homeless shelter which includes cots and is a form of temporary housing, the warming location is a heated space for people to sit and rest and escape extreme cold.

The most recent point-in-time count of homeless people in the city was October 2024, and showed 230 homeless people and 106 of those with zero shelter.

Couch surfers and those with no continual place to stay are also counted as homeless.

This year the plan is to operate the warming shelter every night from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. until April.

A number of local organizations are part of a group effort to prevent harm or death to people who are homeless. They include the Riverbank Development Corporation, Prince Albert Grand Council Urban Services, Salvation Army, Prince Albert Safe Shelter for Women, Prince Albert Indian Métis Friendship Centre, the Prince Albert YWCA and the Prince Albert Métis Women’s Association.

Riverbank keeps an updated list of warming locations/shelter services that is distributed online and given to emergency services such as police, EMS and bylaw.

PAGC also operates Our Relatives Lodge, the former Stepping Stones Shelter, which has 35 emergency beds. The YWCA offers 10 emergency beds for women.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com