Fraser Valley shelters brace for Arctic Outflow
Posted January 2, 2017 12:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CHILLIWACK (NEWS 1130) – An Arctic outflow warning has shelters in the Fraser Valley region encouraging the area’s homeless to be safe and come indoors rather than risk a night outside.
Chilliwack’s Ruth and Naomi Mission (RAN) director Mike Raddatz says even with a blast of frigid air, some people still choose to live outside. So when temperatures drop, shelters worry not only about the cold, but what people do to stay warm.
“Some of them get pretty creative and this presents health and more so safety issue,” he says. “They’ll have propane tanks in their tents with heaters, and we had an incident here a couple weeks ago where half a camp got burned down.”
RAN opened their 26-bed winter shelter in early December. Combined with other shelters in Chilliwack and Abbotsford, including the Salvation Army and Cyrus Centre, there are 93 beds.
“There’s still lots of room available, and our policy is no one is denies. We will make it work, some way or another,” Raddatz says.
Outreach workers regularly walk the streets on cold nights and pass by homeless camps to encourage people to come to the shelters.
Raddatz says RAN will buy more cots to accommodate more people during the coldest days. Donations of blankets, jackets and gloves are always welcome.
Chilliwack shelter locations:
Ruth & Naomi’s Mission
46130 Margaret Avenue
Beds: 26
The Salvation Army
45746 Yale Road
Beds: 5
Cyrus Centre
45845 Wellington Avenue
Beds: 12
Abbotsford shelter locations:
Cyrus Centre
2616 Ware Street
Beds: 10
The 5 and 2 Ministries
33933 Gladys Avenue
Beds: 20
The Governing Council of the Salvation Army
34081 Gladys Avenue
Beds: 20
