'For them to have hope': Regina's emergency shelter set to open its doors
Regina’s new emergency shelter is set to open its doors.
The Gathering Place’s New Beginnings Centre is located in the former YMCA building downtown. Already, the 40 beds are fully booked with a waiting list.
It has been a tough winter for Regina’s unhoused. Jennifer Inkster slept in bank ATM lobbies until arrested.
“I was just trying to find somewhere warm to sleep,” she said.
Others slept on the steps of an abandoned house or were put up in a hotel by social services.
Now, there’s a better option.
Regina's new emergency shelter, in the old YMCA building downtown, is set to open its doors. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)
“A place for them to do whatever they would like to do,” said Erica Beaudin of Regina Treaty Status Indian Services.
Everyone gets a pod with a table, a bed, and three meals a day.
“Their private space,” Beaudin said.
It took the city until halfway through the winter to get a shelter going. Willing partners and cost were the barriers.
“To go in and actually have a facility like this that’s ready to go for human occupancy to stay 24/7, there’s hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Mayor Sandra Masters.
It will cost just short of $1 million to house and feed 40 individuals for the remainder of the winter. The fully booked facility opens Monday and is designed to feel like home.
“[It’s meant to] give opportunity for them to remember that feeling, for them to want that feeling and for them to have hope that they can have that feeling again,” Beaudin said.
The City of Regina doesn’t want to get caught again next winter without an emergency shelter ready to go. It’s negotiating with the federal and provincial governments for funding for a facility that will be permanent.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.