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Warming centre still needed in Barrie as Orillia opens its facility for the city's most vulnerable

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A bitterly cold and challenging night turned into a freezing Monday morning for everyone, especially those with nowhere warm to go.

The overnight temperatures dropped below -15 degrees Celsius, prompting Orillia's new warming centre to open its doors for the third night this season.

Chris Peacock with The Sharing Place in Orillia belongs to a group of organizations that got the warming centre open.

"It's directly tied to inflation, as more and more people can't afford housing in our region, they're forced to find shelter," Peacock says. "In the evenings, it's extremely cold, so we have space at the warming centre at the Orillia Community Church to house 25 individuals," he adds.

Six people used the warming centre on Sunday night, but those numbers are expected to explode as word of the new warming centres opening spreads on the streets.

Over in Barrie, the frustration and challenges are adding up as the city desperately looks for an overnight warming centre of its own.

"We need to get this going. We have nothing right now in the works for a warming centre because things have fallen through," says Natalie Harris, councillor for the City of Barrie.

Harris says two potential sites that were previously under consideration are unusable. She has joined up with several local groups to organize something for the 130 people who live on the streets in Barrie every night. "I'm really reaching out hoping somebody can come forward and say that they would potentially be able to provide this space," says Harris.

Environment Canada says we've experienced a milder season than normal despite the current cold.

Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, says the bitter cold likely won't last.

"I think Thursday really begins the kind of long, drawn-out two weeks of below freezing temperatures," Phillips says. "We'll feel it in the last part of January but certainly won't be record-breaking," he says.

Councillor Harris will be bringing forward a motion on Monday requesting $14,000 to open up a warming centre in the city as soon as possible. Harris says that will cover one staff member every night until March.

The shelter in Orillia is also looking for volunteers.

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