As the Farmer’s Almanac predicts “Winter With a Heart of Cold,” the good souls at Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area aren’t going to just sit there and let that happen, especially for the town’s homeless population looking for a place to warm up when the mercury inevitably drops again.
Not only are they gearing up to sponsor and promote the 5th annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk, the volunteer group is tackling an immediate, local issue involving the weather.
For about a year now, the Society’s brain trust has been involved in discussions around how to offer some respite from the cold for the homeless, who already face a multitude of challenges in everyday life without factoring in those -30 degree days just around the corner.
Helping Hands executive director Laura McDonald said as the discussions continued, it came up that maybe St. Andrew’s United Church might be a good place to start. It turns out the church (also the site of one of Helping Hands’ year round Food Sheds) is the ideal place.
And thus was born the cold weather shelter idea.
The Calgary Foundation’s 2024 Quality of Life Report states that nearly half of Albertans are now only $200 away from being unable to meet their financial obligations.
And the latest unemployment figures are also not encouraging.
Calgary jumped to 7.9 per cent in November, a two percentage point jump from last year, according to Statistics Canada's labour force survey. Joblessness in Alberta also leaped by 1.6 percentage points to 7.5 per cent.
While Cochrane may not have the highly-visible homeless encampments characteristically associated with larger urban centres like Calgary and Edmonton, McDonald said that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue here.
“I do think it’s an issue that’s growing as our population grows so quickly," she said. "Even now, with how much Cochrane has changed, the problem is still largely invisible."
Some homeless people live in cars or RVs. As for the ones who don’t have access to campers or other vehicles, McDonald said she didn’t know where they go in the cold weather.
She said last winter a couple of homeless people got noticed by members of the public.
“There was a lot of talk last winter because it was such a cold one," she said. "We did have one or two visibly homeless gentlemen in Cochrane last winter and that’s when the community got really loud, asking ‘Why aren’t we doing anything to help these folks?'"
Because of their work with the free food shed, Helping Hands had first hand insight.
“We do have sort of ‘front row’ access to the folks seeking support,” McDonald said. “So that’s where this conversation opened up for us.”
Their volunteers are trained and they try to take time to talk to those who come to the food shed, so they gain an appreciation of the needs.
“They learn a lot of interesting things, whether it’s teenagers living on friends’ couches, or folks who are full-on living outdoors, so hearing those types of stories, and thinking about what our volunteer workforce is capable of, we put two and two together and St. Andrew’s Church was the first location we thought of,” McDonald said.
“They were generous enough to say yes and that’s where the warming centre concept came from.”
The finer details are still being worked out, but they’ve dubbed it the “Harsh Weather Haven.”
So now, whenever the temperature drops to -20 Celsius, St. Andrew’s United Church at 128 First St E will open its doors to homeless folks looking for a little warmth from noon to 4 pm.
All it took was a few helping hands.
Helping Hands volunteers generously give of their time to help with rides to medical appointments, food drives, mentorship, snow removal, lawn care, handyman services, companionship, moving assistance, downsizing, essential errands, food rescue, Free Food Shed maintenance and much more.
They are always looking for volunteers and donations.
To learn about the 5th Annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser or more about Helping Hands go to helpinghandscochrane.ca.
