For Immediate Release – Nov. 3, 2013
Contact: S-CAP at 249-878-7227
The City cannot leave the homeless out in the cold!
The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) is very alarmed with the announcement by the Elgin Street Mission that it is no longer able to stay open 24 hours a day from Nov. 1st to the end of March to allow homeless people some shelter from the cold. The Mission will only be able to stay open on those nights that the City declares a cold-weather alert (when the temperature goes down to at least -15 C or -20 with the wind chill). On all other nights these homeless people will no longer have this shelter and warmth and will have to face the freezing temperatures outside.
“S-CAP through our daily contact with and support work for many people living in poverty is well aware of how getting out of the cold in the Sudbury winter is crucial to the survival of many homeless people. Many nights up to 20 people, or more, have sought refuge and warmth at the Mission for the past six years. The City cannot leave these homeless people out in the cold” says Phil Marsh a member of S-CAP who has undertaken support work for people at the Mission and the Samaritan Centre. “The City has a responsibility to provide warmth and shelter for homeless people in this city” Phil Marsh of S-CAP went on to say.
To address this urgent situation S-CAP is demanding, first, that at least an equal replacement space for warmth and shelter be immediately provided for homeless people for every night this winter so they are not left out in the cold. Secondly, that more safe and free spaces be provided in the city shelters, including establishing a ‘wet’ shelter, for those homeless people who drink. There are many homeless people in Sudbury who are denied access to the Salvation Army shelter for drinking, drug and other reasons and there are also homeless people who cannot secure vouchers or permission through Ontario Works, or some of the churches, to be able to stay in the Salvation Army shelter which otherwise usually costs about $25 a night (this is not the kind of funding that homeless people have). There are also others who refuse to stay at this shelter for various reasons.
To prevent more people from becoming homeless and to allow at least some homeless people to get housing the City also needs to maintain, and not cut back, funding for the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) program and keep them at the same levels and under the same policies as under the previous Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) program which the province cut on Jan. 1, 2013.
We are looking forward to immediate action from the City on these urgent matters. The homeless cannot be left out in the cold!
Contact: S-CAP at 249-878-7227
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