St. John's shelter scrambling for place to house overflow

There is a line to get in at St. John's shelter during a cold snap.

"Any time you ask how cold it is, it's cold," said one man as he walked in.

With temperatures expected to hover around zero, a warm bed is a hot commodity.

"We will see individuals who seek shelter that have not been seeking shelter over the past couple of weeks," says shelter Executive Director Alexia Wood.

One man, who did not want to be named, says he usually sets up camp outside, but that won't happen this week.

"When it gets down like this, it's a little different," he says.

St. John's Conditonal Use Permit limits the number of beds at the shelter to 64. They were cited for violating that permit last month, but Wood says they are still housing about 70 people per night.

Last week, St. John's announced they will seek to increase their CUP to 84, but that can't happen overnight.

Over the past few weeks, St. John's has relied on St. Norbert's College to house their overflow. However, with students returning from break, the college is no longer an option.

"We've had a couple of organizations reach out with some interest, but no viable options have come forward yet at this time," says Wood.

The shelter and the City report that they have been working together to find a solution to St. John's capacity issues.

The City has stated it will not cite St. John's for any occupancy violation during this brutal winter cold spell.

The shelter says, if the weather is bad enough, they will plan to be open 24-hours on today and Tuesday.