Overnight warming bus to operate in Regina during cold snap

The City of Regina is offering its homeless residents another chance to escape the bitter cold.

The city said it will operate an overnight warming bus from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. until Monday. The city said the bus will travel between the Nēwo-Yōtina Friendship Centre on 11th Avenue, Carmichael Outreach on 12th Avenue and the Awasiw Warming Centre on Fifth Avenue.

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According to Environment Canada’s forecast, the Queen City can expect an overnight low of -35 C on Friday.

“Providing a transportation option that allows people to move between spaces to manage capacity is critical in extreme weather,” Dave Slater, the city’s manager of community well-being, said in a statement.

“While services were expanded this year by adding a new warming centre at Nēwo-Yōtina Friendship Centre and increasing hours at Awasiw and Carmichael, transportation during extreme temperatures remains a significant challenge.”

The bus, which as a capacity of 20 to 25 people, will be staffed by a driver and workers from the friendship centre, the city said, in order to maintain a safe environment and communications equipment will also allow staff to quickly respond to any emergencies they encounter.

“The warming bus provides urgently needed alternative shelter to people who currently sleep outdoors and enhances the safety and well-being of residents during cold winter nights,” the city noted in a statement.

Community facing ‘homeless crisis’

Kerri Martin, co-ordinator of community mobilization, says the community is experiencing a “homeless crisis.”

“There are a significant number of people in need of service, and at the city, we have really worked on warming spaces and additional services,” she said.

She says it’s the first time the warming bus has been used this winter season.

But even with these additional services, it’s difficult to deal with such extreme temperatures, she noted.

“Even for folks to walk from one centre to another becomes incredibly dangerous. So the warming bus provides that safety,” she noted.

The city monitors and assesses the weather on a daily basis, Martin said.

“Come Monday, we will be having those conversations throughout. If the need remains and there’s still significant safety concerns, we would explore if that was a need,” she said.

– with files from 980 CJME’s Daniel Reech