Red Deer's homeless population has been struggling to keep warm during the recent cold snap.
Central Alberta has seen windchill values around minus 40 over the past week and that can lead to frostbite occurring within minutes on uncovered skin.
Dwayne Kraushar is the manager of the Mustard Seed homeless shelter in Red Deer.
He says they'd like to help keep people warm, however most of their beds have been full for the past year.
"For 2024, in our men's section, we were 100 per cent full and in our female section, we were full 87 per cent of the time," stated Kraushar.
The Red Deer shelter offers 46 spaces, including 35 for men and 11 for women. The shelter is a sober, behavioural-based space which is open 24/7, 365 days a year.
Kraushar says they routinely turn away four or five people per night. He notes there isn't a lot of extra room, but they do try to add an extra bed during extremely cold nights.
The shelter, located at 6002 54 Ave., offers showers, clothes, and three meals a day, In addition, staff are onsite to refer guests to community supports and perform follow-ups and check-ins.
Kraushar mentioned that in 2024, they saw 369 unique individuals come into the shelter, noting they had a 30 per cent move out rate.
The Mustard Seed offers a shelter diversion program, which helps individuals with rent or damage deposits to prevent them from needing to access the shelter in the first place.
A total of 11 full-time and 9 part-time employees work at the shelter.
The program is funded by the Government of Alberta and from community donations. Kraushar says they wouldn't be able to operate without the help of their many volunteers.
In addition to monetary donations, the Mustard Seed also accepts items such as gloves, boots, jackets, ski pants, and other essential winter gear. Kraushar says they'll accept pretty much anything that can be used at the shelter.
A recent Point in Time homeless count survey showed that around 766 people are experiencing homelessness in Red Deer. Kraushar says a lot of those people are on the street due to financial needs and the difficulty in finding mid to low-income housing. He notes 35 per cent of shelter guests staying at the Red Deer shelter have a full or part-time job, money in the bank or income supports.
"We're seeing a lot of untraditional unhoused people. Our average age for our shelter is around 43 years old," said Kraushar.
The Mustard Seed is a Christian non-profit organization that has been caring for individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty since 1984.
The organization operates in seven cities across Western Canada, including Red Deer, Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Kamloops, Medicine Hat, and Saskatoon.
Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@centralalbertaonline.com.
CentralAlbertaOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the CentralAlbertaOnline app.