West End Resource Centre’s AC vandalized; possible hour reductions if not fixed

Hot temperatures and a vandalized air conditioner could force a Winnipeg resource centre to reduce its hours.

A non-profit in the city’s West End said it may reduce its hours if it can’t raise enough funds to fix its air conditioning units.

Chris Ash, community partnership supervisor with the West End Resource Centre, said staff attempted to turn on the AC back in May—only to realize vandals had damaged the units, including stealing the copper pipes.

The centre on Ellice Avenue provides a range of services for people living in that area of the city, including offering employment assistance, drop-ins and food security programming.

“We may have to change our hours for the safety of our staff, also our volunteers and the people who need our services,” said Ash, adding that the heat can pose health risks.

“We’ve seen in some days almost a 50 per cent drop in senior program attendance.”

Speaking to CTV News on Friday afternoon, Ash said that it was currently 29 C inside the centre.

A GoFundMe was launched in May, but Ash said the problem was placed to the side as the centre focused on helping wildfire evacuees as a community donation drop-off point.

The fundraiser has since raised over $1,700 to repair the AC units, which is estimated to cost $6,000.

“Winnipeg is so great for helping out those in need and this is just another showing of that. I really think that this is not going to be a problem for much longer here,” said Ash.

To avoid future repair costs from vandalism, the centre is also planning to relocate the AC units on the roof at an estimated cost of $15,000, in addition to the repair cost.

A heat warning is currently in effect for Winnipeg and several other communities, with humidex values near 40 C anticipated on Friday afternoon.