Staff shortage is behind Sudbury warming centre challenges, executive director says

A warming centre in downtown Sudbury that was set up to help the core's homeless population during frigid temperatures is experiencing a major staff shortage, putting operation of the facility at risk.

Julie Gorman, executive director of the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY), said finding people to work the weekend and evening shifts at 199 Larch has been difficult in recent months.

"We've noticed that the majority of our sector of trained individuals are caretakers in their home lives as well as their work lives," Gorman said. "So a lot of them are unable to maintain these front-line requirements."

The shortage was most evident around Christmas — "our worst month," Gorman said. Already trying to fill gaps, remaining staff logged a lot of overtime, leading to increased burnout from the long challenges.

"What would happen is in less than 24 hours, someone would have to give notice because their family member has to isolate, being a close contact, or the school had to shut down," Gorman said.

"So now a parent has to be home and in less than 24 hours, we would have to fill five to ten shifts for that one person."

Gorman said there's a small pool of workers at the warming centre — 30 trained professionals plus another 10 or 15 casuals who can plug holes when needed. The space at 199 Larch can accommodate 32 people indoors, the city's website says. 

According to Gorman, the warming centre sees approximately 45 unique homeless people per shift, adding up to approximately 400 visits per day.  

Gorman added they're now turning to community partners to make sure the centre can do its work.

"We've been very grateful for the turnout we've seen from partners," she said. "A lot of homeless services come together multiple times a week in meetings to discuss staffing needs and other supports."

That includes planning for the potential of another lockdown. Until then, Gorman said, they're focused on running the centre as smoothly as possible, at least until the contract to operate the warming centre ends in spring.

"We also are talking to outreach workers to see if they can help walk clients to one of the alternative shelter spaces within our community just across the street, or down the block. We also have other community partners who are bringing in some supplies like snacks or harm reduction supplies for the people who need them."

Worst over for overcrowded shelters?

The city's website says some pressure on shelters could be easing.

According to the Homelessness Data page, there is total capacity of 65 shelter beds and 42 indoor warming spaces. On the evening of Jan. 15, total shelter beds were at 77 per cent capacity.

Shelters include locations at 200 Larch Street, as well as spots on Pine Street and Cedar Street, all in the downtown core.

The city is also struggling with an encampment in Memorial Park, where the city estimates between 12 and 16 people live, despite the cold. Some of those people are restricted from using the shelters due to what's known as a service restriction. 

"Some people have had a service restriction placed on them for unsafe behaviour, including weapons and violent behaviour, which is unsafe for the other shelter users," the site reads. "Service restrictions are rarely permanent. They can vary from one day to longer term depending on the severity of the incident and can often be resolved with a meeting with the program manager.

"A service restriction at one program does not automatically result in a service restriction at another program, therefore a person who is restricted from a shelter can still attend at the warming centre as long as they maintain behaviour that is safe for all."