Sub-zero temperatures may be hitting the Lower Mainland this week but for some homeless people, it is still not cold enough to prompt them to take advantage of a shelter in the Tri-Cities.
Rob Thiessen, director of the Tri-Cities Hope for Freedom Society, said there are a number of "hard-to-house" people who are firmly entrenched in their way of life. He added that some have mental illnesses and are afraid of being in a confined space, while others are suspicious of outreach efforts and attempts to move them indoors.
"There are a few individuals that have never responded to the resources offered to them by our outreach team or our shelter," Thiessen told The Tri-City News. "Those are the ones we have concerns about."
Theissen's organization runs the cold/wet weather mat program, which rotates between Tri-City churches, offering a warm place to sleep for the region's homeless population.
The number of people taking advantage of the shelter is up this year, averaging between 20 and 30 people a night. Since the shelter opened at the beginning of October, Thiessen noted that 15 people have been moved into permanent housing.
Because of the frigid temperatures, the extreme weather emergency shelter was opened on the weekend at Trinity United Church in Port Coquitlam. That shelter only operates when the thermometer dips below -2 C and the cold/wet weather mat program is approaching capacity.
But despite Hope for Freedom's best efforts, there are still people that refuse to come inside, Thiessen said.
He remembers four years ago when Irvin Wickens, another hard-to-house homeless person, was found dead in Port Coquitlam a week before Christmas.
"There are a couple of people that are kind of in the same situation," Thiessen said. "We are watching them like hawks."
Gerry Sly, a Tri-City resident who hosts weekly meals for homeless people at his Coquitlam business, said he has seen anywhere from 40 to 60 people show up for food. Overall, the numbers are up from past years and have actually been lower lately as a result of the cold.
"We find that when it gets really cold, the numbers actually go down," he said. "They can't come out because they won't be able to get warmed up again."
Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said for the most part, police do not have the power to force someone to go inside in the cold.
But he noted that in certain circumstances, a person who is causing obvious harm to themselves can be apprehended under the Mental Health Act.
