St. Mary’s warming shelter in Saskatoon opens a week earlier than expected

The City of Saskatoon has opened its second warming shelter at St. Mary’s Parish a week earlier than expected.

The warming shelter at St. Mary’s will open daily starting Dec. 2 from 11 p.m. until 8 a.m., and is for men only. Originally, the shelter was supposed to open on Dec. 9.

Read more:

• Saskatoon city council approves $200,000 for winter warming shelters
• $1.2M needed for warming centers, winter navigation in Saskatoon

An overnight warming shelter for women is operating at the Saskatoon Indian and Métis Friendship Centre on Wall Street. That shelter also allows for men to warm up in the evenings, but not stay overnight.

The warming shelter at St. Mary’s is expected to be very busy. Last year, the city said that St. Mary’s had an average of 122 people in its warming shelter each night. That number rose to 230 on extremely cold nights.

The cost to run the overnight warming shelters will add up to about $1.2 million, with the lion’s share of the money coming from both the provincial and federal governments, as well as contributions from non-profit organizations and private donors.

Saskatoon City Council contributed $200,000.

Along with the overnight warming shelters, there are also daytime warming spaces in the city.

Posters with information about those shelters have been printed and are available throughout the community according to the city.

Find a list of warming shelters here.

Read more:

• Saskatoon city council approves $200,000 for winter warming shelters
• $1.2M needed for warming centers, winter navigation in Saskatoon