As frigid temperatures set in, unhoused men face very limited options for sleeping indoors in Hamilton

Every night, John Conrod rolls out his sleeping bag and lies down, sometimes on a picnic table or church porch, and tries to sleep. The most he ever gets, he says, is five hours. 

The damp and cold "hurts the bones," the 62-year-old Hamilton resident told CBC Hamilton, just days before the city issued a cold weather alert. Temperatures were expected to drop to -17 C Sunday night, not counting wind chill.

Conrod says he wakes up tired and achy around 6 a.m. most mornings, throws away his trash and cleans up all remnants of his stay, as if he were never there.

He straps the heavy duty sleeping bag to his back before he walks away. It's become his prized possession after a stranger gave it to him as the winter set in, an act of generosity Conrod said he's immensely grateful for. 

He spends the days in coffee shops and the city library to warm up and doze off. 

Conrod continues to donate blood every month or so, showing CBC Hamilton his Canadian Blood Services card that says he's given 175 times.

Conrod has kept to his simple routine for the last six months, ever since a warehouse forklift job fell through and he could no longer afford a room at the motel he'd lived in for years, he said.

Initially, he'd planned to sleep outside only for a little while, avoiding shelters because he didn't feel they were safe. He was hoping he would have been able to able to find a new job before long. However, sleep deprivation has taken a toll both physically and mentally.

Now, he said, he doesn't know how he'll escape the cycle of poverty and homelessness. 

"I never thought it would happen to me but it did," Conrod said. "I worked all my life. I've paid my taxes all these years and the government has not helped."

Men have fewest overnight warming spots

Options are limited for Conrod, even as temperatures plunge this week, triggering the city to issue the cold weather alert Sunday.

There are nearly 1,700 people experiencing homelessness, according to the city, and all of the city's shelters — for men, women and families — are full. For men specifically, that's 243 filled spots, according to the city's most recent data up to Dec. 31. 

Overnight warming spaces, where people can rest but don't have access to a bed, are also limited for all. There are 85 spots for women and non-binary people. For men specifically, there are only 10 spots, said city housing director Michelle Baird. They're offered at the Good Shepherd's Men's Centre as a temporary measure until the charity is able to open a new 50-spot warming centre for men, including trans men, and non-binary people at the former Cathedral Boys School. That will open hopefully this week, Baird said.

The city is also running a warming bus, which people can ride all night. Baird said it can hold between 25 to 30 people at a time and is operating close to capacity as of the first week of January.

Conrod said he'll brave the cold with just his sleeping bag, hoping its label promising to keep the user warm in -25 C is true. What he really needs to find a job, and then housing, is sleep. 

That's why he was intrigued by the idea of the tiny homes project and disappointed when he learned it wouldn't be built in time for this winter.

'Heartbreaking' tiny homes not up yet: HATS group

Last year, the Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters (HATS) had announced plans to build 25 cabins at Strachan Linear Park where people could live temporarily until they found affordable housing.

Those plans fell through after HATS was faced with community backlash for its lack of consultation, as well as unforeseen facility costs.

The delay is "incredibly frustrating," said Tom Cooper, a HATS board member and director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. 

"But more so for people sleeping in encampments and alcoves. It's heartbreaking. Without a roof over your head, everything falls apart." 

He'd hoped the project would give some people a warm place to stay by winter, but is now aiming for sometime in 2024.

The tiny homes are not meant to replace affordable and supportive housing that should be funded by provincial and federal governments, Cooper said, but rather one of many solutions to keep people warm and safe. 

Conrod said that's what he needs.

"Tiny Homes would do me fine," he said. "I'd sleep, then get a job and then someone else can use it." 

There's no guarantee of who will get a spot in the small program that'll likely see a huge demand, but there will be an application process through a social service provider, Cooper said. 

"Even if we double or triple the project, it wouldn't be enough for the many more people sleeping rough," Cooper said.