The Out of the Cold temporary winter shelter was supposed to close Tuesday. Philip Quigley, chairman of the Truro Homeless Outreach Society, confirmed with the Truro Daily News yesterday the shelter will remain open for the foreseeable future.
"It will stay open at First United Church for up to a year if necessary," Quigley said, adding the facility will now be called The Shelter and will open from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Quigley said keeping the shelter operational is vital because "it gives us time to further develop and better secure a permanent homeless shelter ... we are looking at options in the downtown area."
Quigley estimates there have been about 35 clients making use of the winter shelter this year and "the need is always going to be there."
That need will still be relevant once better weather is here, he said.
"The need in spring and summer hasn't been tested here yet but there will still be inclement days and people without a home. The need may not be as great but it will still be there."
Also needed will be volunteers.
"We are still totally volunteer (driven) and we always need more volunteers," said Quigley, adding there was an initial fear that extending the initiative could impact the number of volunteers.
"But we have amazing volunteers staying on," he said, adding a new online program has been prepared to register, track and notify volunteers of pertinent information.
Another requirement, said Quigley, is a freezer. If assistance can be provided in any way, log onto trurohomeless.ca or email
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