Victoria will provide daytime warming centres for those experiencing homelessness during extreme weather events this winter.

A lack of places where the city’s homeless could find refuge from extreme cold and wet conditions during the day was identified as a gap in the current Emergency Weather Response Plan. That strategy sees BC Housing fund service organizations to open additional overnight shelter beds when the elements pose a risk to vulnerable people’s health and safety.

“We have recognized extreme weather as a hazard that is increasing in frequency and severity, which is why we have turned our attention to it,” said Tanya Patterson, the city’s emergency program coordinator, during a Nov. 25 committee of the whole meeting.

People usually have to vacate designated overnight shelters between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., often leaving them out in the harsh weather. The warming centres will now be activated and open during the daytime when conditions meet the emergency criteria, which uses the same benchmark as the emergency weather response program.

When temperatures are near or below freezing, with rainfall that makes it difficult or impossible for unhoused individuals to stay dry, the centres will be opened. Snow, sleet, freezing rain and strong wind conditions could also prompt the openings.

If extreme conditions persist for days and emergency shelters run out of capacity, warming centres – which don’t provide beds or mats – may also be activated for the night. The goal of the centres is to prevent injury or death caused by exposure to the elements. Staff said activation will be on a case-to-case basis.