{"id":484336,"date":"2026-02-19T02:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T02:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/484336\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T02:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T02:42:13","slug":"cold-snap-on-vancouver-island-prompts-call-for-more-services-for-homeless-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/484336\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold snap on Vancouver Island prompts call for more services for homeless population"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A cold weather snap on Vancouver Island has prompted concern from homeless advocacy groups, who say more needs to be done to help unhoused people make it through winter. <\/p>\n

Campbell River, the Regional District of Nanaimo and Sidney have all recently activated emergency, overnight warming centres, while Victoria has activated overnight emergency warming tents and a bus in response to freezing temperatures. <\/p>\n

But some community groups say the pop-up centres aren’t enough to keep unhoused people safe during the cold, wet and windy winter months.<\/p>\n

“We’re seeing people losing digits and toes and even feet because they can’t get dry,” said Sue Moen, a coordinator with the Campbell River Community Action Team.<\/p>\n

Warming centres are funded by the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness and are only activated during extreme weather. They usually provide hot drinks, snacks and seating, but not beds. <\/p>\n

The temperature threshold, at which the service is made available, varies.<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Not all island communities provide winter homeless shelters:<\/p>\n

This is Vancouver Island24:27Not all island communities provide winter homeless shelters – why not?<\/p>\n

There are unhoused people living in communities across Vancouver Island, but not every community has a place for them to go on nights when winter weather is so bad that it\u2019s dangerous. The province provides funding for winter shelter, so why doesn\u2019t everyone apply for it?\u00a0Host Kathryn Marlow and CBC reporter Maryse Zeidler look at three areas with three different levels of support: Campbell River, Sidney, and the Cowichan Valley.<\/p>\n

Campbell River, like many communities, follows provincial guidelines to activate theirs. This includes forecasted temperatures of \u20134 C or lower, or 0 C or colder within 24 hours of an Environment Canada weather warning.<\/p>\n

Moen says those criteria are too stringent and don’t activate the centres often enough to keep unhoused people safe in the north island city known for windy winters full of precipitation. <\/p>\n

“We think that if [the city] involved community on a broader scale that we probably could come up with a more robust response,” she said.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Emergency Management told CBC News that local governments and First Nations can establish their own criteria \u2014 which Moen says would be safer and better. <\/p>\n

Campbell River does have homeless shelters, but it no longer has additional beds during winter, when people who normally camp outside may need extra protection from the elements.<\/p>\n

Last year the city lost its 20 additional winter shelter beds at Kwesa Place, a homeless drop-in centre, as part of the city\u2019s plans to revitalize the downtown core. <\/p>\n

City response<\/p>\n

In a written statement, the City of Campbell River says 55 people accessed the warming centre Monday night, and two firefighters were also able to conduct wellness checks on another 13 community members. <\/p>\n

The city says it also provides access to showers and laundry services at the community centre and additional support includes access to the library and a lunch program offered by the Salvation Army. <\/p>\n

“Responsibility for emergency shelter services rests with B.C. Housing,” the city said.<\/p>\n

Campbell River, B.C. is pictured in 2019. (Shutterstock \/ EB Adventure Photography)<\/p>\n

The Regional District of Nanaimo activated a warming centre in Parksville, on mid-Vancouver Island, for the first time this year. <\/p>\n

Dayhomes Society founder Shayla Day, who’s based in the Oceanside region, says she was glad to hear about the centre because there aren’t any overnight shelters with beds throughout the area. <\/p>\n

“My people are out here dying. They want help, and I’ve got granola bars,” Day said.<\/p>\n

The 2025 point-in-time homeless count identified 94 people in the Oceanside region \u2014 which informally encompasses 12 communities, including parts of the Nanaimo Regional District, the Town of Qualicum Beach and the City of Parksville. <\/p>\n

WATCH | Parksville residents call for more warming centres:\"\"<\/p>\n

Parksville, B.C., residents call for more warming centres<\/p>\n

Parksville, B.C. residents are calling for more resources to help the unhoused. As Claire Palmer reports, hundreds are left on the streets with nowhere to go. <\/p>\n

Day says she was able to secure a location and funding from B.C. Housing for an emergency weather response shelter in Qualicum Beach. Once established, she says it could open anytime it feels like 0 C or colder. <\/p>\n

But Day says she hasn’t been able to get a letter of support from town council, which is a prerequisite to open the shelter. <\/p>\n

The population of homeless people in the region isn’t highly visible, Day says, but still in dire need of help.<\/p>\n

“It’s the people that you walk by every day that are starving that you can’t see,” she said. <\/p>\n

The people that Day says she has helped include seniors, youth and people on limited incomes. <\/p>\n

Environment Canada says the cold snap is expected to last at least two more days, as part of a low-pressure system moving across the province. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-484336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}