ATHABASCA – With another winter on the horizon, staff and volunteers at the Athabasca Cares Community Housing Society (ACCHS) are gearing up for the start of the overnight shelter’s operating season.
Starting Nov. 1, the shelter will be open for anyone who needs somewhere to sleep out of the cold, opening its doors at 9 p.m. every night, before closing for the day at 8 a.m.
“We’re anticipating that there’s going to be an increased need for aid from people having to access the shelter,” said Krystal Zahara, Chair and Co-Founder of the society.
“Given the circumstances in Athabasca, it could very well be that we will see an increased number of clients regularly using our shelter, which becomes really concerning for us.”
The 2024 winter will be the second year in a row the shelter has been able to be open each night of the week, and usage has grown substantially. In 2022, the shelter had around 15 regular clients, and that number grew to 30 in 2023.
The shelter, located on the west end of Athabasca, can house up to 20 people a night, and Zahara said between seven and nine clients are using a bed on an average night.
“The shelter offers meals for our clients when they come in, and we have shower and laundry facilities,” she said.
“We actually just got a grant for new beds in the shelter which is so nice. They’re really comfortable,” she said. “It’s nice because we have some people that are taller, or bigger, and its nice from them to have a comfortable space to sleep that isn’t a camp cot.”
A landmark event
When the Grand Union Hotel burnt down on July 23, Athabasca lost one of its historical buildings, but Zahara pointed out that ACCHS’s clients often used the building as a shelter year-round.
“If it was during the evening when the bar was open just for a place for them to go, or —whether we want to admit it or not — there were people squatting there,” she said, noting she knew of 15 to 20 people who had used the condemned building as a shelter.
“Obviously, there’s a concern for us because a shelter is a shelter. People seeking shelter are trying to get out from the cold and losing the Union is absolutely effecting our homeless community in Athabasca.”
The society’s mandate is to, “preserve life in Athabasca,” according to Zahara, which means clients are allowed to use the shelter regardless of sobriety.
“We are completely a harm reduction facility, we’re founded on the principles of harm reduction and we believe in the science behind it.”
While Zahara acknowledged it’s a reactive approach — meaning the shelter is operating in a way that reduces risk in the moment, but doesn’t have the capacity to address root causes of the problems — ACCHS is working on providing wrap-around services to its clients, including a monthly free legal clinic run by director Kate Nunn.
“She does everything from helping with identification to landlord and tenancy issues to issues like (child) custody,” said Zahara.
The clinic, which runs from 9 a.m. to around 11 a.m. on the first Monday of every month, is currently the only extra service the shelter is providing, although Zahara mentioned her team is working to provide mental health support as well through a partnership.
Community support
Athabascans looking to lend the society a hand can do so in a variety of ways. The easiest is through a fiscal donation, which can be made on a one-time, monthly, or yearly basis through the society’s website, athabascacares.org. Volunteers are also welcome, and Zahara said the support from the town’s business community had been outstanding as well.
Recently, Done Right Contracting donated snow removal for the shelter, which could save the society as much as $5,000 depending on snowfall. Winter jackets, mittens, and boots are always in demand as well.
“Anything below -10 C can be deadly for our clients, so having a shelter that is open 24 hours a day during the winter months is our first goal,” said Zahara. “The only way we can do that is by raising more money. We raise money through finding grants, but also through our community helping out.”
