A 19-bed emergency winter shelter at the Kamloops Yacht Club, run by The Mustard Seed, will open tonight, Nov. 8, and stay open through this current cold snap.

It comes one day after an emergency shelter at Stuart Wood Elementary opened its doors as overnight temperatures in Kamloops are expected to hit -13 C Tuesday and Wednesday night.

“This emergency winter shelter is an amazing opportunity and vital life-saving measure for our brothers and sisters living on the streets,” Mustard Seed Director of Operations, Nyasha Manyane said, in a statement.

“They will have a space, where they will be safe, warm and loved.”

Unlike Stuart Wood – which will be open to March 31, 2023, this facility at 1140 River Street will operate as needed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

“It’s going to get warmer [by the weekend in that] it won’t be the minus tens and things like that but really what we’re talking about is trying to get the Mustard Seed in there for as long as we can,” Byron McCorkell, the City’s Community and Protective Services Director, told NL News.

Essentially, he said, it will come down to Mustard Seed’s ability to staff up and get the resources required.

“It’s cold as far as saying it’s all just about the money but in the end it’s all really about knowing that you’ve got capacity, that you’ve got a funding source that is going to be consistent that you can hire staff, you can develop staff, you can put yourself into a much more program focused approach,” McCorkell added.

Manyane notes the people accessing the Yacht Club shelter – which will be an overflow to the main operations of The Mustard Seed – will be given a warm meal in the evening and breakfast in the morning.

Both shelters were supposed to be operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association in Kamloops, before it pulled its support just days before the original Nov. 1 opening date, leaving the City and B.C. Housing to scramble and find new operators.

“Things are evolving and everyone on the social side of our community are stepping up and doing whatever they can to make solutions happen,” McCorkell added.

According to the City, there are now 209 shelter beds available including Stuart Wood (25 beds), Emerald Centre (40 beds), the Mustard Seed (22 beds), Harbour House (12 beds), Merit Place (50 beds), and Moira House (41 beds), all of which they say are operating at capacity.

Another 24 people warmed up at Stuart Wood last night, with ASK Wellness also noting it served 46 people at its two temporary 24-hour warming centres – 26 at Spero House on Tranquille Road and 20 at the Crossroads Inn downtown.

“The commitment of ASK staff coming together to support these efforts highlighted the strong level of the team’s resolve and courage,” Andrina Tenisci, a Communications Specialist at ASK Wellness, said.

“The importance of the social service collaboration was witnessed, as ASK, Out of the Cold, the Loop, and Mustard Seed worked together in bringing people indoors for the evening.”

While not formally authorized to operate as a shelter, The Loop on Tranquille Road, was the only emergency shelter in Kamloops from Thursday to Sunday night.

That led to calls from its operator, Glenn Hilke, asking the City to open up public resources for people in need.

– With files from Brett Mineer