As the nights get cooler, Rocky Mountain House’s cold weather warming shelter is gearing up for another winter with a tentative opening date set for Oct. 13.
The shelter, located at the Lord’s Food Bank on 52 St, regularly provided warmth and safety to around 18 individuals on the coldest nights of the year, with 30 others who would come and go.
For this year, Kandis Stradecki, chairperson for the Clearwater Regional Housing Foundation says the hope is to establish the shelter even more in the community.
“This next season is really about demonstrating what a full program would look like,” says Stradecki, who added that last year’s season largely served to identify a need in the community.
Kandis Stradecki speaking about the approach to the 2025/26 cold weather warming shelter season
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While the organization has enough cash in the bank to open Oct. 13, Stradecki says funding from the town, county and province hasn’t yet been secured, although it is anticipated.
The organization has submitted a funding request to the town, and is set to appear before the newly elected Clearwater County council in November, and will be requesting regular annual funding from the province.
“We are looking at having annualized funding through the province — we’re not at that point yet, but that would be the ask going forward,” says Stradecki.
A year from now, the organization hopes to have a more concrete plan of what an ongoing sheltering program could look like.
Stradecki adds that they are planning to partner with local organizations in fundraising efforts for 2026, with plans to be announced soon.
“It really does take all of us coming together to make this program a possibility,” she adds.
The shelter was kept afloat last year thanks to support from the town of Rocky Mountain House and Clearwater County, along with generous donations from local schools, churches, and residents.
The shelter was normally open between the hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., but was open extended hours from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. during especially frigid nights last winter.
Volunteers are once again being requested this year to help facilitate the shelter. Those interested can email lhunt@mrwsa.net to inquire.
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