Hamilton homeless advocates warn ahead of harsh winter season

There’s a warning that Hamilton has a grim winter ahead. People who work with the homeless in the city say the season could be deadly for people living in Hamilton’s tent encampments.

In Stoney Creek, the Christmas assembly line is hard at work. Filling up bags to help homeless people get through the winter.

“These people need to be recognized as humans that don’t have a place to live right now and this is a small token of compassion for them.”

There are still worries about people living in tents when winter hits.

Sue Van Egdom, from Alliance for Tiny Shelters, says, “Unfortunately last year many of our leadership team have experienced seeing or hearing about these people that they found frozen to death in their tents or their meager shelters. That’s why we’re all here. That’s what pulls on our heartstrings.”

There are fears it could happen again.

READ MORE: City of Hamilton staff prepare for winter weather

“In Hamilton, I will tell you there’s a whole bunch of folks left out in the cold this winter and it becomes a serious health crisis and people are going to die, if we don’t do something different,” says Jen Bonner from The Hub Social Services.

There’s never been an exact figure on the number of people living in tents in Hamilton. Some people who work with the homeless put it at 400 and they say there won’t be anywhere else for these people to go when winter comes.

The city has brought in a number of winter measures for the homeless and is looking for more.

As it stands, late at night when other places close there will be about 130 overnight shelters.

“As of right now there are zero spaces for men, there are limited spaces for women, no spaces for families, and no spaces for people who have pets,” Bonner says.

It includes children who may have to make dangerous choices to stay warm.

Homeless advocates say there have already been fires in tents this year as people try to stay warm and frostbite on frigid days.