With concern for one of the most at risk populations on the streets in Red Deer, the Safe Harbour Society is anxiously awaiting a decision from Red Deer City Council to use their current daytime warming centre as an overflow overnight shelter for their mats program so they don’t have to keep turning people away.

As Director of Operations Tricia Haggarty-Roberts explains, more and more people are turning up each night.

“This winter started early for us, technically we’re not in it, and we found ourselves throughout November consistently turning away in our mats program due to the fact we had hit capacity.  The mats program is for high and intoxicated individuals, we are in the middle of an opioid crisis, which is certainly a health crisis, and these are the most at risk individuals to die outside from being homeless”.

She says in the month of November they had to turn people away 75 times.

“So if you can think 75 times a high or drunk individual had nowhere to stay inside, that’s our very real environment right now.  It means those guys are out walking the streets or huddled in a bank vestibule or you know an unlocked apartment foyer or what not.  Those are not appropriate places for people to sleep.  I think we can do something that keeps people safer and a little more dignified”.

The mats program provides a monitored, supervised and safe place to stay for these individuals, it has room for 26 people.

City Council will be considering Safe Harbour's application on Monday.