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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With temperatures dipping below -30 C, the shelters in Yellowknife are prepared for the long winter ahead, one which Environment Canada predicts will be colder than normal.

The Salvation Army can house approximately 50 people on an emergency shelter basis and also has the Bailey House available for support. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

But shelter employees work hard to ensure people always have a warm place to stay during the cold winter months, said Brian Birch, the director of programming at the Yellowknife Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army Shelter is open from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m., with a curfew of 11 p.m. But if someone is banging on the door to get in out of the cold, they won't be turned away, said Birch.

"There's rules and regulations but we're very flexible," said Birch.

"If someone was banging at the door, we'd ask if they're aware of the curfew. Other than that, no one is left out."

There's nothing the RCMP can do to force people to go to a shelter overnight, no matter what the weather, said Sgt. Peter Pilgrim.

"My understanding is that if and when we can take a person to a shelter, they will be taken there," he said.

The RCMP can't bring someone into holding unless they are caught doing something against the law. There's no set temperature where the RCMP will collect people off the street and bring them to a shelter.

"It's totally against our policy. Those are the situations where we would get in trouble," said Pilgrim.

"If we held someone without lawful authority, we don't have the grounds to put anyone in our care. Each individual case is looked at separately and each person is cared for as best we can."

Over the holidays, cold weather or not, the Salvation Army hasn't been as busy as usual, said Birch.

"Last night, we had close to 30 guys, we can have up to around 50," he said.

During the holidays, a lot of people who would normally use the shelter have family visiting or have found places to stay with friends.

"Some people pool their money together and get a motel room for a couple of days. One guy said his parents were coming in from up North for a couple of days and he was going to be staying with them," said Birch.

"There's a lot of that happening, just like it would happen with anyone else."

However, having friends and family visit can create additional challenges, according to Lydia Bardak, executive director of the John Howard Society.

"We get so many visitors from the communities and sometimes it means there's more money for substance abuse which complicates things," she said.

The support services work together to ensure there is always somewhere to go for a helping hand. Birch said on days the Dene Ko Day Shelter, run by the John Howard Society, cannot open, the Salvation Army opens its doors, and vice versa.

"A few weeks ago the day shelter was closed because of problems with the pipes or something so we were open all day," he said.

Bardak said about 60 people per day year round use the day shelter, adding it's not only the homeless population.

There are people who have homes but will stop by for something to eat because they can't afford food, or people who are trying to maintain a sober environment at home so they'll visit the shelter instead for socializing with their friends and family, she said.

But not everyone using the day shelter has family in Yellowknife. Three quarters of them identify a different community as their home, making this time of year feel even more isolating, said Bardak.

"There are a lot of people who have difficulty at Christmas, not just the people here but it's also that glaring reminder that they're disconnected," she said.

"They've always got a place to go," said Birch.

"We're open and we want to see them here."

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