Prince Albert shelter rewarded for leap of faith as fundraiser covers $17K expansion

A Prince Albert, Sask., cold-weather shelter's decision to expand without securing funding first has been rewarded.

The Our House facility, which is operated by the Prince Albert YWCA, includes a cold-weather shelter that opens its doors from mid-October to mid-April.

But Prince Albert YWCA CEO Donna Brooks says the shelter was repeatedly running overcapacity by early December.

She says the decision was made to expand from 10 beds to 15, even though the YWCA didn't have the funding to pay for food and the staffing to add the extra beds.

We're not letting people freeze. We will find a way to pay for it.- Prince Albert YWCA CEO Donna Brooks

"So we just made the decision, 'We're going to open them,'" she said.

"We're not letting people freeze. We will find a way to pay for it."

That expansion cost an extra $17,000.

Two-and-a-half months later, their recent "Coldest Night of the Year" fundraiser brought in a record $18,265.

"That was what made this Coldest Night of the Year so special, is we raised basically exactly enough money to cover those five extra beds," she said.

"We opened in early December not knowing how exactly we were going to fund those extra beds."

The Feb. 23 event saw fundraisers gather pledges and walk a two-, five- or 10-kilometre route.

Brooks praised the 40 walkers and 26 volunteers for making a "tangible, immediate difference" on what she described as a cold night.

She noted all 15 of Our House's beds were used almost every night in February.

"Last year, we very rarely ran over the 10 beds," she said. "We very rarely ran over capacity last year. For some reason, this year the demand has really, really increased."

Brooks said she didn't know why Our House saw such a jump in numbers this year, but she doubted it was completely related to the extreme cold this winter.

"People think it's related to the cold," she said. "But it's not really related to the cold once you get into the middle of winter, because cold is cold. So –5 C is cold if you're sleeping outside."

However, she said it might have something to do with the declining average age of the clients they see at the shelter.

"I do know we are seeing in the Prince Albert area — and probably across the province — more homelessness around younger people than in past years," she said.

"So we would normally see people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Now we're seeing a lot more people in their early 20s."

Donations to the Prince Albert YWCA's "Coldest Night of the Year" fundraiser are being accepted online until March 31.