With temperatures significantly improving this week, the City of Edmonton has deactivated its extreme weather response..The deactivation took effect on Christmas Eve..The extreme weather response was activated on November 29 due to the extreme cold.."Edmonton Transit Service has been operating a dedicated overnight transportation service on three routes between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to transport people to shelters with capacity," said the City of Edmonton. .Edmonton's LRT stations have been experiencing problems with homelessness, with residents reporting constant incidents of open defecation and used needles littering the ground..The Mustard Seed Prairie Manor is trying to help residents who have no place to go and is offering sober living..READ MORE: New supportive housing facility opens in south Edmonton.It has gradually welcomed residents since late summer and is now at 70% capacity. The site is one of eight projects funded by the City of Edmonton and the Government of Canada as part of the first two rounds of the federal Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), a national housing program aimed at new housing for vulnerable Canadians.."Beyond the extreme weather response, ETS will continue to operate a shuttle bus to help vulnerable people find a warm, safe place to go each night," said the City of Edmonton. .The shuttle runs daily from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will remain operational as long as temperatures remain colder than -10 degrees Celsius..Drug addicts are using the train and stations for a warm spot to smoke and inject drugs..READ MORE: ETS advises resident 'move to other side of station' to avoid meth heads."This is a major concern as both myself and my teenage daughter take transit," said Edmonton resident Tiffany Broder. .While Broder was at the Clareview station, she texted the ETS Emergency Line for help when a man across from her was smoking meth..Edmonton police said in October it assisted with the closure of two homeless encampments in downtown Edmonton..Tattered tarps, dilapidated tents, and trash blew in the wind as vulnerable people could be heard screaming as they packed up their belongings. Word spread in the tent city the law was coming to remove them..READ MORE: EPS assists the City of Edmonton in removing homeless encampments downtown."I can confirm the EPS (Edmonton Police Service) assisted with the closure of two encampments, one in the area of 99 Street and 106 Avenue and one in the area of 105 Avenue and 96 Street," said EPS Media Relations Spokesperson Carolin Maran. .The city said the Boyle Street Community Services Warming Bus will continue to operate throughout the winter regardless of temperature from 12:30 to 11 p.m..The City of Edmonton thanked Al Rashid Mosque for providing additional overnight shelter spaces to protect vulnerable Edmontonians during the activation..If people are concerned about someone outside in the cold, there are steps they can take at any time to help:.Call 911 for someone in serious distress or in cases of emergency..Call 211 and press 3 for 24/7 Crisis Diversion non-emergency support for shelter, intoxication and mental health.
