As temperatures spike, West End Resource Centre may cut hours if it can't fix AC
Non-profit on Ellice Avenue has no air conditioning after copper pipes torn out by vandals
A non-profit in Winnipeg's West End said it could be forced to reduce service hours if it doesn't raise enough money to fix its air conditioning system heading into the dog days of summer.
Staff at the West End Resource Centre — which provides a range of services in the Daniel McIntyre and St. Matthews neighbourhoods, from drop-ins to employment help — found out the air conditioning at its 823 Ellice Ave. building didn't work in May, when staff tried to turn it on.
They discovered the AC had been vandalized, and the outdoor copper pipes connected to the system were missing.
The centre said in a news release that temperatures inside the facility now reach nearly 30 C, making it unsafe for staff, volunteers, and community members.
Chris Ash, the centre's community partnerships supervisor, said Thursday it may be forced to shift service hours earlier "for the next little while."
"As a resource centre, we're a place that people come to cool off, get what they need, and we couldn't provide a safe space," Ash said. "So it was really kind of disappointing that that wasn't something that we could offer."
Ash said since the AC's been out, the number of seniors attending the centre's regular events has dropped by half. About 50 clients use the centre's services every day, he said.
"Whenever we have our food giveaways … we have maybe 35 people in the centre. So it gets warm really quickly," Ash said. "You can see people sweating, people struggling, people even giving up and leaving."
The centre has been raising money to get the system working again since it discovered the pipes were missing in May, but Ash said staff shifted focus early on to helping some of the thousands of evacuees fleeing the wildfires in northern Manitoba.
About $1,200 had been raised through GoFundMe as of Thursday evening to fix the AC and make it harder for people to vandalize it in future. Ash said he hopes to get the system fixed as quickly and with as little disruption to services as possible.
Meanwhile, with heat warnings currently in effect for Winnipeg, the centre's staff is doing what they can to survive the sweltering heat.
"Day to day, it's a lot of drinking water.… We've been having a lot of freezies," Ash said. "We just got fans everywhere and we just take turns in front of the fans, really."