The Strathmore Overnight Shelter doors remain open and helping the homeless during the COVID-19 crisis.

Pastor Eilzabeth Karp executive director of the Strathmore Overnight Shelter says,

“We are needing gloves and bleach. We are doing the best we can.”

When people arrive at the shelter they will experience enhanced measures meant to safeguard the health and wellness of everyone at the facility. That includes handwashing on arrival.

Staff have been disinfecting twice as much said Karp, but the shelter is down in the number of their regular volunteers.

“Some are in self-isolation and not well,” she said.

Bread runs are still being done as well.

“Bread is still available on Wednesday nights or on Saturdays from 11 to 12.” Karp says they will continue distributing what comes in until there is no more.

“The soup kitchen is closed down and the church ( Harvest Healing Centre Church) is closed down by the request of the town,” said Karp.

The Federal Government has announced some protections for homeless people during the pandemic.

The Reaching Home initiative invests $157.5 million to support people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the government, the funding could be used for a range of needs such as purchasing beds and physical barriers for social distancing and securing accommodation to reduce overcrowding in shelters.

Karp explained that if the shelter closed vulnerable people would be forced to go to larger centers in cities like Calgary.

“The thing is with the homeless shelter, they would have no other option than to go into the Mustard Seed or somewhere in Calgary and they are at higher risk there because the greater amount of people,” she said.

In the meantime, when people come into the shelter staff check them and their belongings.

“If you refuse to wash up you are not allowed in,” she said.

Staff have doubled their efforts by doing a top to bottom cleaning of the facility.

“We already did a pretty thorough job in cleaning and sanitizing. But we are far more conscious of that now,” said Karp.

“If you are coming into the shelter, we ask you to do that and to the best of your ability social distancing, which is super difficult when you have a room full of people sleeping in the same room,” she explained.

“Cough in your sleeve. It’s difficult for some of the clients to understand, they live on the street, they don’t wash up that well,” she explained.

Karp thanked the volunteers at the shelter for their efforts.

“We’re doing our best to stay open, that’s only by the grace of my volunteers that are coming in and trying to pinch-hit and trying to do their best to help. I am super thankful for that.”