Shelter van rescues dozens of homeless people from frigid streets

A Winnipeg shelter's patrol van was used to rescue dozens of people sleeping outside in frigid temperatures this past weekend.

On just one of those nights, 20 people were taken to theMain Street Project and other places, said Rick Lees, executive director of the shelter.

"We just had to be out there. In those temperatures people don't survive very long," he said.

The van, which cruises the downtown and North End, was brought out last week for the first time in six years. Afunding crunch had forced the shelter to park it and focus on other programs.

• Homeless outreach van back on road after woman dies in bitter cold
• Main Street Project van patrol brings overnight warmth to homeless Winnipeggers

But the recent deep freeze, which broughta wind chill that made it feel near 40 at timesand was blamed for the death of one person,forced shelter officials to put it back into action.

On Dec. 11, a 53-year-old woman died after being foundunconscious on the ground in downtown Winnipeg after a night when the wind chill dipped to 32.

• Woman found dead outside on frigid Sunday morning

Afew hours earlier,firefighters had responded to the same block after a call about "multiple people that were frozen," said Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg.

Right after that tragedy, Main Street Projectjoined forces with the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ Community Homeless Assistance Team to staff the van. The BIZ has provided $35,000 in funding, but that's not enough to keep the van running as often as it's needed.

• Van serving homeless people needs to run 24/7, group says

For now, the van is only being used on the coldest nightswhile Lees searches for more funding. It's better than leaving it parked until full funding can be found, he said.

"Right now we feel the safety of the public is more important, so we're going to keep going, at least in the extreme colds."

The patrol service is operated by twoMain Street staffers and an outreach workerfrom the Downtown BIZ.

They drive aroundareas where people are known to go at night to try to stay warm, Lees said, adding theyfind them in doorways, under bridges, behinddumpsters, insidedumpstersanywhere that blocks the wind.

• 2nd homeless outreach vehicle gets ready to roll in Winnipeg

There were times on the weekend when the van crew came acrosspeople who didn't want to go with them, Lees said.

In those instances, the crew hands out blankets and clothes and returns checkon the people every half hour to make sure they're still OK.

Fortunately, for those who sleep on the streets and for the Main Street Project's budget, there is some relief from the deep freeze.

Temperatures are expected to improve by 20 degrees this week, compared to last.

The wind chill warnings have been lifted and the daytime highs should be well above normal for this time of year at least for a few days.

• Mild weather blows into southern Manitoba