Candice Huculiak never imagined she'd end up without a roof over her head, but after missing one month's rent she was forced onto the street to endure the bitterly cold temperatures along with thousands of other people in Edmonton.
"You don't cope, you cry, you almost die inside," she said. "It's very hard people are out on the street...almost frozen to death and they don't have the blankets...or things they need."
Huculiak joins Edmonton's 3,000 homeless now struggling to keep warm with temperatures hovering around -30 in the capital region.
"You look to your fellow street brothers to keep you warm and maybe huddle together to keep warm," said Huculiak.
"It's cold and if you're not dressed for it you're going to freeze really easy," said Louis LaLonde.
A number of shelters have extended their hours of operation to take in more people. The Hope Mission expects a growing number of people will need shelter with the deep freeze expected to last until the end of the year.
"We feel we're prepared for this cold snap, but we could see numbers really increase this weekend definitely with this cold weather," said Peter Gerber from the Hope Mission.
Gerber says the Hope Mission has about 900 beds and are not even close to capacity yet.
Emergency crews say they have already treated six people who've been exposed to the elements.
"It's extremely dangerous for our citizens. We'd caution that they continue to layer all their clothing and make sure they stay dry," said paramedic Craig O'Callaghan.
But for people who are struggling to find their next meal, the hope of finding adequate clothing and shelter fades with every passing day.
"The more you stay out here the more you want to die because you just want it to be over," said Huculiak.
Officials with some of Edmonton's shelters say some may not survive this winter because they refuse to stay in shelters and instead try to brave the cold in tents.
The Hope Mission asks anyone who needs shelter to take refuge in their facility.
With files from Scott Roberts
