A variety of non-profit community organizations are in need of clothing donations to keep people safe and warm this winter.
With the first day of winter still more than a month away, EGADZ executive director Don Meikle wasn't proud to reach into an empty bin when he went to help a family last week.
"We went to give a kookum and her kids some winter jackets, and there were none," Meikle said, wondering what inflation and other cost increases have done to exacerbate the problem.
"It's starting earlier this year because people don't have money right now."
Meikle said teen boys' clothing is most in demand, but EGADZ will accept everything from mittens, toques, boots and jackets to keep people warm this winter.
He's seen the difference a spare jacket can make on a cold night.
"Last year... we came across a guy -- if we wouldn't have been there, probably within 20 minutes he would have died," Meikle said. "Heat is bad. Cold is worse."
EGADZ isn't the only organization facing a shortage of donations.
At The Salvation Army, where its Christmas hamper program has already begun, it not only needs toy donations to keep the workshop stocked throughout the winter season but it also doesn't have much spare clothing to hand out to people living on the street.
Lieutenant Derek Kerr said the need is a once-in-a-generation event.
"After the Second World War -- we haven't seen a need this great since that time period," Kerr said. "So it's a once-in-a-lifetime situation we find ourselves in."
According to a count led by the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership in the summer, Saskatoon has roughly 550 homeless people, up from the 2018 count of 475.
Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand says that number only represents a fraction of the homeless population in Saskatoon.
"It's probably only 50 per cent of what's actually out there. That number is increasing. So when we talk about homeless people, we're not just talking about the individuals that are walking around on the street, we have an influx of families," he said.
Arcand was at the STC's Emergency Wellness Shelter on Monday when he saw an entire family with all of their belongings get into a cab with nowhere to go.
"This is a big serious need right now in our city. I think if people want to give, we're always open at the Wellness Centre," Arcand said.
With the city yet to activate its cold weather strategy, more and more community groups are pleading for donations with supplies dwindling early.
