With temperatures dipping further into the minuses, the City of Regina has made an overnight warming bus available to people experiencing homelessness.
The warming bus is near Mobile Crisis Services on the 1600 block of 11th Avenue. The bus is available from 8:15 p.m. to 7:45 a.m., seven nights a week.
Kim Olsen, the manager of emergency preparedness and business continuity with the City of Regina, says that the bus is open to anybody who needs a warm, safe space.
“We have two staff members to ensure the safety of those who are using it. We also have CBOs (Community Based Organizations) that we are working with that are providing some warm beverages, collecting donations, and working with individuals that will need some support.”
“We wanted to make sure that we are providing a safe environment for people while we look for long-term solutions within the City,” she said.
“We wanted to make sure that we are providing a safe environment for people while we look for long-term solutions within the City,” she said.
Olsen said the bus could seat 37 people, but they would like to keep the use below that number.
“That gives people space to bring their belonging on board so that they can have a little bit more personnel space for themselves so they can relax and maybe catch some sleep.”
She noted that they had seen five to 20 people use the bus.
Olsen said that both the location and times of the bus could change as the City gets more information.
“We’ll keep monitoring it as we go forward and make sure it is being used properly and is proving the service it is intended for,” she said. “We will keep doing some analyst, making sure that we are providing enough space for everybody and if there are more needs, than we’ll take that into consideration as well.”
Regina Transit and Regina Fire & Protective Services are monitoring the city core area each night, and the warming bus will respond to locations where it can be of assistance.
Olsen added that people could donate to the bus by contacting Carmichael Outreach at 306-757-2235 or [email protected].
