Whistler’s cold weather shelter expands capacity to meet demand

It’s all hands on deck at the Whistler Community Services Society’s (WCSS) cold weather shelter.

With overnight temperatures dropping below -10 in Whistler (and across much of the continent), for much of the last week, the WCSS initiated its Emergency Weather Response (EWR) and opened the doors of its 8000 Nesters Road facility for overnight stays.

Executive director of the WCSS, Jackie Dickinson, told Pique the facility reached capacity within an hour of opening on Thursday, Jan. 11, and reached capacity every night it’s been open since.

But nobody was being turned away, and Dickinson stressed they never will be.

“We went in knowing we had a certain amount of capacity, and if we reached that capacity, we would not turn anyone away,” she said, explaining WCSS staff would look at mobilizing those in need to other locations, or pay for temporary accommodations if there was no extra capacity to be found.

“This arctic flow was showing no signs of being done in a short period of time, so we advocated to the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to see if we could get extra capacity within the community to support this growing need, and the following morning (Friday, Jan.12) we were zoned with support and help of the fire chief to go from six beds to 18.”

Every night since Thursday, the WCSS has operated with 18 beds made up of six they own, and an extra 12 sourced from other groups in the community.

“We have six beds we were able to purchase with the support of a grant that came from the Whistler Healthcare Foundation just over a year ago … When we got an increase in capacity the challenge was we didn’t have enough cots, so we advocated to the Fire Department and to emergency social services to provide us with extra supplies, and we got 12 more cots provided to us,” Dickinson said.

She added the extra capacity was a challenge for the WCSS, but staff were motivated to make it work.

“We had to find space somewhere … We removed furniture and flipped [office] spaces. We feel very lucky we were able to do that,” Dickinson said.

“Obviously it changes the delivery of services, but this is a public health emergency so we’re going to do whatever it takes.”

Notably, all staff with the WCSS are on deck to make the shelter happen and services continue.

“Everybody is helping make this activation happen,” said Dickinson. “There’s also a very special group of people we’ve recruited that are a part of our EWR program and they are our nighttime staff, the ones that are showing up at 11 at night when everyone’s cosy in bed. I really want to recognize this group of people, because they’re the silent heroes.”

WCSS is currently the only overnight cold weather shelter in Whistler providing beds to those in need when temperatures drop below -10.

The Whistler Public Library (WPL) is used as a warming shelter during daylight hours, having previously been used as an emergency overnight cold weather shelter prior to that responsibility shifting to the WCSS in 2023.

Dickinson said the community can help the WCSS by spreading the word the shelter is a safe space open to everyone.

“The greatest thing Whistlerites can do if they are safely housed is reach out to people that maybe aren’t, and really normalize their willingness to come into this space, and confirm for people it’s a safe space for them to belong, and when and if we reach capacity, we will ensure people get safety and nobody is left behind,” she said.

The WCSS cold weather shelter will remain open for the next few days due to cold weather and snowy conditions. For updates on nights the shelter is open, follow the WCSS on Facebook.