Instead, the 54-year-old homeless man wanders the streets of Meadow Lake, Sask., 300 kilometers northwest of Saskatoon, in order to keep himself and others from freezing to death. During his nightly patrols, McPherson checks on about two dozen people huddled in different locations, such as alleys, abandoned buildings or vehicles. “I’m walking around, making sure they stay awake and stay alive,” McPherson said. Like many small towns, Meadow Lake, population 5,300, has no homeless shelter or place for vulnerable people to warm up after 4pm or on weekends. Saskatchewan’s harsh winter is just beginning, but the coroner’s office is already investigating the deaths of two men found frozen to death — one in Saskatoon and one in Prince Albert.
“There is nowhere in the world for them”
On a recent patrol, McPherson bought soup from 7-Eleven for a young woman who was shivering without a jacket. Then, in a back alley, he hit an old car half covered in snow. “Anyone here?” cried. No one was found inside, but there were leftover food, sheets and a black garbage bag full of clothes. “It’s like there’s nowhere in the world for them and nobody wants them,” McPherson said. “They are very happy to see me come along and I am very happy to find them [alive]because it doesn’t take long for it to freeze out here.’ Ernest McPherson eats a hot meal at the Door of Hope Soup Kitchen in Meadow Lake five days a week. There is no homeless shelter or warming area in this small town after 4pm. or on weekends. (Bonnie Allen/CBC) There’s only so much McPherson can do to help. Often, she will wake someone up, get them moving, give them warm clothes, or take them to a 7-Eleven or ATM lobby for a brief respite from the cold. He feels compelled to watch over others in the same way that a “guardian angel” watched over him last winter. He almost froze to death in a -38 C blizzard. “I lost direction and time … so I sat down for a minute and thought I’d rest for a minute. I fell asleep,” McPherson said. “I had a guardian angel that night. He came and kicked me in the leg.” WATCHES | Ernest McPherson describes the night he nearly froze to death:
Homeless man describes the night he nearly froze to death on the streets of Sask. city
Ernest McPherson says his near-death experience last winter makes him too afraid to sleep outside on a cold night.
Seeking refuge in hotel rooms, police cells
Last week, Saskatchewan announced up to $1.7 million in additional funding to increase emergency shelter spaces in larger cities. “In communities without shelters, or if an emergency shelter is full or not meeting an individual’s needs, residents will be connected to a hotel or different shelter that offers the support they need,” the government press release said. At the Door of Hope Soup Kitchen in Meadow Lake, Natanis Bundschuh doesn’t see hotel room vouchers as a real solution. Bundschuh is the executive director of a nonprofit Christian organization called Meadow Lake Outreach Ministries. It serves about 100 hot meals a day, distributes free clothing and runs a food bank, but its doors are only open from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Natanis Bundschuh is the executive director of Meadow Lake Outreach Ministries, which operates a soup kitchen, food bank, retail store, daycare and other programs. The nonprofit does not have the funding or staff to run a homeless shelter. (Bonnie Allen/CBC) Bundschuh said she has escorted homeless people to the Social Services office, only to be denied a hotel room — either because the hotels were full or because the person had “exceeded” an unspecified limit on chips. “I’ve often had to tell people, ‘Call the RCMP and they’ll get you a safe, warm place [in the cells]. They’ll give you a meal, they’ll make sure you don’t get too cold.’ But most people don’t like that, because they feel trapped, they feel trapped. For some, it’s traumatic. Maybe they’ve gone to jail.” Bundschuh said a woman told her McPherson took her out in the cold one night and thawed her out. “He said, ‘I’d be dead if it wasn’t for Ernie,’” Bundsuch said. “Cry.”
Homeless Coalition
Volunteers who have worked with vulnerable clients at Door of Hope for decades say homelessness is on the rise in the northern community for many reasons, including addiction, mental illness, changing welfare policies and the rising cost of living. The situation is so troubling to some that a group of business people, church leaders and concerned residents formed Home Plate, a homeless coalition in Meadow Lake to lobby for funding for a shelter. But so far, it has hit roadblocks. “People are going to die. And it’s our problem. It has to be dealt with,” said Bob Steeg, president of Home Plate. He said he’s frustrated by all the red tape involved, from building codes and zoning issues to insurance and financing criteria. “I highly doubt we’d see a shelter in six months. We’re just struggling to have a warm-up spot,” Steeg said. “Someone has to say, ‘We’re just going to do it.’ And do it and make people survive.” “In my mind, light the fire, throw them a sleeping bag.” Left to right, Meadow Lake resident and retired physician Merv Johnson poses with Meadow Lake Outreach Ministries president Bob Steeg and board member Bill Sclater at the Door of Hope kitchen and reception center. A new housing coalition wants Door of Hope to become a 24/7 warming site in the winter. (Bonnie Allen/CBC) The coalition is convinced that someone will die this winter if they don’t find safe shelter for about a dozen homeless people at Meadow Lake.
Living in “an icebox”
In the short term, the coalition is seeking emergency funding to expand Door of Hope’s hours of operation from eight hours a day, five days a week, to 24/7. This would not create shelter beds, but would provide people with 24-hour warmth, supervision and safety. Beyond that, the coalition wants to acquire some of the vacant social housing and eventually secure funding to cover a building and staff a homeless shelter. Ernest McPherson is usually couch surfing or sleeping rough on the streets of Meadow Lake, a small town in northwestern Saskatchewan. This winter, he plans to stay in a truck camper if he can afford to heat it with propane. (Bonnie Allen/CBC) Ernest McPherson said the only reason no one died last winter is that a group of homeless people, including himself, illegally occupied a vacant downtown hotel. The Métis man, who dumpster dives to earn money from recycling, recently raised $300 from friends to buy a camper, even though he doesn’t own a truck. “It’s an icebox in there right now,” he said, standing at the camper door, which is propped up on a stand. While the camper provides a roof over his head, McPherson still needs to find money to fuel a propane heater. He said he will continue to sleep secretly in the soup kitchen and on a friend’s couch. However, he will not stop wandering the streets at night. “Until there’s a shelter, I’ll be here, patrolling every night.”
