Freezing temperatures keep shelters busy
No one will be forced to use shelters
Lara Fominoff/ Yuliya Talmazan Feb 23, 2011 19:34:57 PM
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•Record cold snap expected this week
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Police, community workers and others will be watching out for anyone that looks like they might need some help tonight. The shelters are ready to take them in, but only if someone chooses to go.
While the HEAT Shelters are at capacity right now, the extreme weather shelters have so far only been around 40 percent capacity.
Kerry Jang speaks for the city and says once again, police won't be forcing people to go into a shelter if they don't want to. "What we do is we bring them to the front door, or ask them, 'Do you want to go to a shelter?' If they indicate yes, we'll take them there, and I know that we've been very successful with that approach."
Union Gospel Mission's Derek Weiss says the biggest item in demand right now to help people who choose not to go to a shelter is a good pair of socks to protect their feet from potential frostbite.
Meanwhile, Victoria is dealing with extreme weather. The city has received over 10 inches of snow earlier today, and more snow could be on the way.
Katie Josephson with the city says there are shelter spaces available for those in need.
She says crews are out in full force ploughing and salting streets. "We're out ploughing all the main arterial routes tonight, which seem to be in pretty good shape right now. They are clear, but they are a little bit slushy and really trying to get ahead on the side streets."
Josephson says they are concerned winds might pick up overnight, sending snow back onto the roadways, which might make for a slippery commute in the morning.作者: tiffiant 時間: 2011-2-23 20:31
