Much of North America is under some sort of cold warning, with temperatures dropping in Burlington to nearly -30 C with wind chill this week.
Burlington’s public libraries double as a warming centre when temperatures drop below -15 C, acting as an essential bit of infrastructure for those who need a place to get out of the cold.
“We know we’re a critical part of their network for how they navigate their day,” Burlington Public Library CEO Lita Barrie said. “Another great thing we do is connect folks with resources; we have partnerships with a variety of community organizations such as Halton Housing, Halton Legal Clinic, and Goodwill Industries.”
Though the library offers a combined 72 hours of potential haven from the cold through the week – 12 hours from Monday through Thursday, and eight hours Friday through Sunday – that still leaves 96 hours where anyone without access to shelter is potentially out in the cold.
There is a disconnect between the temporary warming centres and the more permanent – though still temporary – shelters. The region and the city each have their own responsibilities, and do not seem to overlap on services.
“Housing supports and services are overseen by Halton Region, however, the City has partnered with Burlington Public Library to provide Warming Centres at designated branches that offer additional respite from the cold during normal operating hours,” Robyn Heibert, community emergency management specialist for the City of Burlington said.
When asked who is using warming centres, and how many people use them, the region said it was a municipal issue.
“Halton Region does not manage the warming centres directly. For specific questions about the centres, please reach out to the local municipalities,” Isabel Contin, communications specialist for Halton said.
Each day, approximately five to 10 people come into the central library looking for warmth who are dealing with various levels of housing precariousness, Barrie said.
However, there are others out there who just recognize that the library is a warm place to hang out.
“A lot of seniors, even if they feel like they’ve got a roof over their heads and have a home, they can be socially isolated from the community,” Barrie said. “They know they can come to the library and spend a good portion of the afternoon and get their social cup filled.”
In north Halton, Georgetown libraries also act as warming centres, but operate in tandem with Knox Presbyterian Church.
The church operates the Out of the Cold program, letting those who need to spend the night inside the church on a cot, and get two meals while they’re there.
“We’re averaging six to eight guests per night,” Charles Vale, operations director at Out of the Cold said. “There might be one or two people who don’t normally sleep at the church, but they have the last couple of nights because of how cold it has been.”
Nobody from Halton Housing, which provides safe and affordable housing help to those in need in the region, responded to BurlingtonToday. Knox Presbyterian Church was mentioned specifically by Contin. The region does aid in funding the Out of the Cold program, she added, though specifics were not provided.
Vale said all of the people who use the church’s service are local to Georgetown or Halton Hills.
According to The Homeless Hub, a project from the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness run at the York University faculty of education, there are 293 people experiencing homelessness in Halton as of 2021.
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