Last year, when temperatures dipped far below freezing, the Smithers Public Library opened its doors to people living in the homeless encampment next door.
But that won’t happen again this year due to liability issues outlined by Town staff at the Dec. 12 regular meeting of council.
Director of library services Wendy Wright had informed council about opening the doors earlier. In return, she was asked to submit a package detailing what had happened.
In a letter to council, Wright explains how the 2022-2023 winter season saw nights as cold as -35 degrees. As staff were preparing to open, they invited people to come in and warm up next to the fireplace.
“When we arrived in the morning during extreme cold, some of us would call out to our neighbours that the doors were open if they wanted to come in and warm up. Many of them did so, sitting in front of the little electric fireplace heater and shivering,” explained Wright.
Staff were not directly instructed to open the doors early, but were permitted to do so if they wanted.
The library typically unlocks its doors at noon, or at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but staff arrive at 9 a.m., and many made the decision to invite fellow community members in to warm up.
“We just couldn’t stand to leave our neighbours outside in those temperatures,” said Wright.
In a report to council, legislative services clerk Samantha LeBlanc deemed the situation to be “negligent.”
“There is risk [of] exposure to the Town in instances that claims arise,” stated Leblanc. “Smithers Public Library is not officially designated as an emergency warming centre and receives no funding to operate in this capacity.
“The Smithers Public Library board is covered under the Town’s liability insurance policy.” explained LeBlanc.
The library operates in a Town-owned building. Leblanc said future lease agreements could include language that would cover such instances.
During the Dec. 12 meeting, council passed a motion to discuss any potential changes to the lease during a closed, in-camera meeting when the lease comes up for renewal at the end of March.
The library staff “strongly encourage the establishment of an emergency warming centre close to the encampment,” wrote Wright. “Library staff would much rather see a warming centre, such as a trailer with social service providers, at the encampment, but could not look away from people left outside in extreme cold.”
Wright said there were several additional initiatives library staff members started due to compassion for their “neighbours’ need for warmth.”
Last winter, library staff distributed supplies to those in need, such as hats, gloves, socks, foot warmers, hand warmers, and gift cards to fast food restaurants. This initiative was funded entirely by targeted donations from library staff, as well as from community members who were eager to contribute once they found out about the project.
The library also ran a cold-weather tea and snacks station, from late fall 2022 through early spring 2023, for everyone to enjoy. She said this had a positive impact on the library’s overall atmosphere, it made the environment more “cozy.”
“The library staff recently met with representatives of the Smithers Situation Table, a coalition of local social service providers,” said Wright. “They advised us to refer people to existing service providers in Smithers who have the trained staff, time and funding to better fill this need rather than opening the library as a warming centre.”
The Table specifically recommended the Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre and Goodacre Place as spaces to warm up.
But Smithers Community Services Association executive director Myung Lee said Goodacre Place does not operate as an official warming centre. The absence of a warming centre in Smithers is a “community-wide, ongoing challenge,” Lee said.
And the Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre has a heated facility, but does not officially operate as an after-hours warming centre either. The building is closed all weekend, whereas the library is open on Saturday.
Lee is new to her role, but says the discussion around opening a warming centre has been happening for years.
“I hope we see that conversation going smoother. And then next year, we have something really tangible.”
In Wright’s letter to council, she said public libraries in different municipalities extend their hours during extreme weather conditions and advertise themselves as emergency warming or cooling centres.
She noted the provincial government even promotes public libraries as “a safe and healthy space for people to go” on social media, when the weather is bad.
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