Despite recent snow storms, sub-zero temperatures, and cold wet weather, the Salvation Army in Maple Ridge has not reached capacity when it comes to demand for extreme weather shelter beds.
A storm that hit the region overnight on Wednesday, Jan. 5 into Jan. 6, only saw 69 people register for an extreme weather bed at the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries at the corner of 222 Street and Lougheed Highway.
The extreme weather shelter was activated about two weeks ago, said executive director Mark Stewart, and the largest demand to date was 70 people on Dec. 27.
Capacity is 80 at the shelter, however, Stewart said, they could accept more people if they needed to.
“But this hasn’t been the case,” he said.
The Emergency Weather Shelter opens during extreme weather such as temperatures below 0 C, and large falls of snow and/or rain.
Currently demand for beds is fluctuating between 50 and 60 people, noted Stewart.
Stewart is offering shelter lists to people wanting help in other communities like Langley and Abbotsford, and offering rides and bus tickets to those wanting to seek shelter elsewhere, because, remarked Stewart, the Maple Ridge shelter is smaller and bit tight for space.
“We’re just giving options,” he said.
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Older seniors who have walkers and ability issues need more room than they can provide are being offered transportation to bigger shelters. Also, people who are not from Maple Ridge are being offered transportation to get back to their home communities.
And some people, he explained, are restricted from entering the shelter because of the potential for “high violence” in the building – a challenge that they have been dealing with for years – and those people are also being offered a place elsewhere.
“If there is somebody who can’t come into our building, we automatically call the police and let them know that there’s somebody that’s not able to be in our building for some reason and they usually show up and help us,” noted Stewart, adding that safety is important for both staff and clients.
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“It’s just our goal to make sure that everybody who does want to come in, comes in,” he said.
Stewart also noted that in addition to the extreme weather shelter, the Salvation Army Ministry has been offering a warming area.
“You may not even want to book in with us. You may not want to stay here. But you can come in and warm up and get a hot coffee and if you want some food get some food and kind of warm up for a couple of hours, and then you can leave,” he said.
And, he said, everybody who is staying at the shelter is chipping in. About 10 people helped shovel the parking area around the building Thursday morning.
“Everybody understands and realizes the hardship of the weather,” he said.
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