Warming centre for the homeless in Sudbury to open mid-November

Plans in place to help Sudbury's homeless The Go-Give Project is the service provider at an overnight warming centre in the Energy Court lot in Greater Sudbury.

For the past four years, the Go-Give Project has been helping Sudbury's homeless and vulnerable, offering harm reduction, nutrition, first aid and seasonal supplies.

The charity will now be the service provider at a new overnight warming centre in the Energy Court lot, in a trailer that formerly housed the supervised consumption site.

The group hopes to open in mid-November.

"It is something new but with the predictions that the winter is going to be very harsh, it is a much-needed resource and a much-needed facility," said Ali Farooq, Go-Give Project programs manager.

"The wintertime here in Greater Sudbury is very, very cold," said Evie Ali, Go-Give Project executive director.

"We experience a number of cold weather alerts. So this warming centre really is just going to provide a warm, safe space to those that don’t have other alternative shelters in place."

Jobs at the warming centre for security, support staff and a lead supervisor were posted Friday and officials said 300 applications have been received. Hiring and training is the next step.

"I think it’s essential to the operations. Without the extensive training we would be doing a disservice to both the community and to the staff working," Evie Ali said.

"We want to make sure that everyone is well-informed about the obstacles that may or will arise, as well as they are feeling confident and equipped with how to deal with them and we want to make sure that everyone is acting compassionately, safely."

Officials with Go-Give said they have seen first-hand how harsh winter can be for people living out in the cold.

"People are walking around with wet socks so we have seen cases of frostbite," said Ali Farooq.

"We have seen cases of hypothermia and it’s definitely a problem. You know even in tents it’s not guaranteed heat."

The city said Wednesday that there are currently more than 200 people living in 42 encampments across the city.