Calgary police handed jaywalking tickets to homeless people evacuated from a shelter Thursday morning, upsetting residents and the centre's executive director.

People inside the Drop-In Centre were told to leave after the discovery of an electrical problem. Executive director Dermot Baldwin estimates about 50 residents were given tickets after they exited the building.

"You've got hundreds of people who've been evacuated from the building and the police are giving out jaywalking tickets," he said. "It's not a helpful thing. It's not a service to the people, that's for sure."

He said many of those ticketed, especially the mentally ill, won't be able to afford to pay the $57 fine and will likely have to go to jail.

Police told people to use the crosswalk, but some weren't listening, said Sgt. David Fakas.

"It was a traffic safety issue. Anyone who wasn't listening to the officer instructing them to use the crosswalks or wait till traffic to clear would have got the same summons."

Baldwin said homeless people were worrying about their belongings and their next meal, not about jaywalking.

Ken Banman, among those forced to leave the shelter, said that many of the residents were stressed out.

"All my stuff, everything I own is up in there. I was kind of hoping to get back in, hoping the building wouldn't blow up."