Shelters in Regina making it work through pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a lot of things harder, but shelters in Regina have been able to keep serving their clients this winter.

Mobile Crisis can help find resources for people in need, like shelter space if they have nowhere to go.

Thanks to COVID restrictions on gatherings, there are capacity limits at shelters.

Damara Moskal, assistant executive director at Mobile Crisis, said COVID is a consideration but it doesn’t stop staff from helping people.

“We always do find somebody a space somewhere. So if it’s not in a shelter, then perhaps we are maybe looking at hotels. Our mission is to make sure that nobody goes without,” said Moskal.

She said the capacity limits haven’t posed a huge problem, but it can throw a wrench into things when a shelter has to close because of positive COVID cases. In those instances, Moskal said staff might have to direct clients to hospitals more often but it doesn’t last long.

“We’ve felt an impact with the shelters, but we are certainly still able to problem-solve with clients,” said Moskal.

She said Mobile Crisis has been able to figure things out, and it has a lot to do with the city’s cold-weather strategy and communication.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the partners, like the community organizations that are all able to just dialogue together and problem-solve together and bounce ideas off one another and really just come together through this pandemic,” explained Moskal.

Moskal said at the end of the day, Mobile Crisis deals with crises, so when someone needs help, staff do everything in their power to problem-solve and find the people a warm place for the night.