BRANTFORD – A shelter in Brantford has been at capacity for months and is doing its best not to turn people away as temperatures drop.
The Rosewood House, the only co-ed facility in the city, hopes to increase its number of beds soon, but the need is immediate.
"It would probably do me in if I had to stay out in the cold," says one man who has been staying at the shelter for about three months.
He says that his homelessness came as a complete surprise: he says he had his own apartment just a year ago.
"Even the last few nights it's been cool, and thank God I've got a warm place to stay," he says.
The shelter has been operating on an emergency basis for less than a year, and since, its 34 beds have been mostly full.
"We're trying to do our best to make sure nobody freezes to death out on the streets," says Tim Philip, the executive director of the shelter.
"I mean if somebody shows up at the door and it's really cold, we're not going to let them starve. Even if we just bring them into the dining room and we feed them and keep them out of the cold for a while."
There are other shelters in the area, but they can't keep up with the demand.
Philip says the numbers they've seen are "unprecedented."
Dan McCreary is a councillor who has seen Brantford change over the decades. He says the city needs to make the homeless problem a priority.
"People are very concerned that people are sleeping rough out here and going without food, without shelter and just not having the basic necessities of life," the councillor explains.
The city also provides motel rooms for those who can't find shelter, but that's also reaching capacity.
A meeting is in the works to find a solution before the freezing temperatures arrive, but Environment Canada is already forecasting a low of -2 C on Friday.
