Monday, February 17, 2014

Experiencing a Winter in Montreal

I don’t think I have experienced such long and cold winters like the one I’m experiencing here in Montreal since the time I lived in Kansas as a child. I don’t really remember those winters but I sure will remember this one.
 
I’m more than half-way through winter here in Quebec. It starts in November and ends in April with January and February noted as the coldest months.  I’m very grateful for the winter clothes I purchased in Denver and it’s been a learning experience on wearing the different layers and keep from overheating. I still haven’t figured it all out, I think I just have to suck it up and acclimatize to the cold instead of wearing too much that I sweat by overheating.
 
I don’t know how the homeless here in Montreal survive these brutal winters. I know most find shelters and some sleep in the Metro (subway) stations but I know there are some that live out in the cold and unsheltered. The snow, ice and wind chill is brutal here, it is more of a frigid cold, more than what I have experienced in Washington and Colorado together. 

This photo is taken from the entrance of the Open Door on Valentine's Day morning.
 

The Open Door is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 2pm. Sometimes I arrive a few minutes early to open up so guys can get in to get warm. Thanks to all my supporters for allowing me to venture up here to help the homeless, with 30,000 of them here in Montreal I only see a little fraction of what is out there.  But I have seen the difference that we here at the Open Door has made helping the homeless stay warm, fed and clothed since being up here.


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