The BC government says the 50-bed Merit Place shelter at the old Greyhound bus depot on Notre Dame Drive is now open.

In a statement, it says the facility in Sahali will include a variety of services including daily meals, shower facilities and referrals to health care for those who need it.

“As Merit Place opens, CMHA will help folks currently sheltering at Memorial Arena gradually transition to the site over a period of two to three weeks, ” the City’s Social, Housing, and Community Development Manager, Carmin Mazzotta, told council at the end of January.

“City staff anticipate that Memorial Arena will take approximately three to four weeks to transition back to recreational use once BC Housing has vacated the site.”

Mazzotta also council that Memorial Arena is expected to return to recreational use in time for the floor hockey season later this year,

Merit Place is being run with a $1.9-million annual cash injection from the province. It will be run by the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Kamloops office with a tentative closing date in March 2023.

“CMHA Kamloops continues to deliver on our promise of making mental-health services accessible in our community,” CMHA Kamloops Executive Director, Alfred Achoba, said, in a statement.

“Shelters are providing hope to clients that are built on wellness, recovery, case management and community reintegration. This model of service to our community is collaborative in both theory and practice. The results we are seeing speaks to the individual life-changing stories of our clients.”

The 20-bed temporary winter shelter at the Stuart Wood gymnasium will wrap up operations on Mar. 31, giving way to a new day space at 48 Victoria Street West.

Another 40-bed temporary shelter called Moira House at 600 Kingston Avenue is expected to be open by late March.