'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
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.