The bitter cold continues with temperatures plummeting to minus 20 and beyond with the wind chill factored in.  

Daytime temperatures are enough to numb your toes, but for those who have nowhere to sleep, the nights are dangerous.

Emergency shelters have been packed all winter, and the extreme cold has staff busier than ever.

“We’ll help them as best we can to keep them warm,” says Capt. Stephanie Watkinson, Salvation Army.

Watkinson says all 38 beds and 20 mats at the Salvation Army in Barrie will be claimed before dinner is done.  

Staff with the David Busby Centre is proactively trying to get people off the streets and out of the cold.

“We also have our outreach teams going out into the community with the big retired ambulance that you’ll see driving around both Saturday and Sunday,” says Stacey Daoust.  

The dining room at the Lighthouse in Orillia will be transformed into an all day and all night warming station.  “We are open 24 hours.  We don’t close during an extreme cold (advisory),” says Trisha Holloway.

In Simcoe County, 25 percent of those who need these emergency services are between the ages of 16 and 24. 

The Youth Haven in Barrie expects some busy nights ahead and says they will take in everyone that needs a warm place to lay their head.