Out of the Cold shelter opens for season with longer hours

The Out of the Cold shelter in downtown Sudbury is open for longer this year, and the Salvation Army hopes to providemore social services along with the warm space.

The doors at the old police station on Larch Street opened Sunday night, and will re-open every night from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. until April 15.

Those are both longer hours and a longer season than last year. It's the third year for the shelter, which is run by the Salvation Army on behalf of the city.

"We want to focus on meeting some of the needs of the clients and make sure that those individuals who come to us for service are not just going to get a place out of the cold,'Maj.Al Hoefttold CBC News.

Last year, an average of 36 people came out of the cold every night.

Hoeft said the Salvation Armys's downtown men's and women's shelters are closed to intoxicated people, but the Out of the Cold emergency shelteris open to everyone.

"We have some very specific house rules within the shelters and sometimes they're not all that keen on that, and they're happy to choose their independence rather than that," he said. "And we respect that. You know, we have to as a community. But sometimes we offer just that little bit more."