Out of the Cold volunteers challenged by clients using drugs

Crystal meth use is straining the ability of volunteers to deal with clients at Out of the Cold shelter sites, according to Waterloo Regional Police. 

The Out of the Cold program provides meals and a place to sleep for homeless people in Waterloo Region. Recent closures are forcing the program to move from 7 nights a week to only 4. 

"One of the changing demographics is younger people, 25 and under, accessing Out of the Cold and shelter services and the predominance of crystal meth," said Kevin Thaler, in an interview with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition Wednesday. Thaler is the superintendent of neighbourhood policing with the Waterloo Regional Police and has volunteered with Out of the Cold.

"We thought we'd seen it all with crack in the 90s and then crystal meth comes along and it seems to be literally ten fold," he said. "In the middle of the night when people go through withdrawal they get unusual behaviours. This is stuff even the volunteers haven't seen in the past 15 years."

​Despite challenges faced by program volunteers, Thaler says that the force won't put officers in the shelters or at Out of the Cold sites because then people won't access those services. 

The region says more than 500 people use the program, and it is prepared to provide spaces for them if Out of the Cold is unable. 

Cold weather coming

"There will be, probably at the early onset of the cold weather, an increased demand on police. We may find some people who are unaware of the changes, unaware of the shelter locations," said Thaler of the Out of the Cold closures.

Police have the responsibility to respond when they get a call about a person who needs shelter, or they spot someone outside on a dangerously cold night. 

 "Not everyone wants to go to a shelter. We may find someone on a -30 C night that is clearly--their life is in danger by staying out in a doorway and they decline to come with us," said Thaler, adding that, on a cold night, an officer may use the Mental Health Act to apprehend someone who is homeless in order to prevent them from freezing.

Thaler didn't have exact numbers on the deaths of homeless people in the region, but said he was aware of one person who died last winter.