Vancouver police to hand out blankets to homeless
Posted November 16, 2010 5:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Vancouver Police officers will once again be handing out blankets to the city’s homeless as winter descends upon us. Officers have 350 blankets to hand out, courtesy of the Salvation Army and a supplier who donated them.
According to officers, it’s difficult to get homeless people into shelters. “Typically they don’t want us to take them to the shelter in a patrol vehicle,” says the VPD’s homeless coordinator, Cst. Jodyne Keller.
And they can’t force people into shelters during a cold snap. “We can offer them to drive in a patrol car. That’s what we have available to us at the time. Short from that, I know BC Transit bus drivers can take them to the shelter. Again, that’s at the discretion of the bus driver. Short from that, they walk. We give them directions if they’re not aware,” Keller explains.
