The outgoing Managing Director of The Mustard Seed in Kamloops says a year-round shelter on the North Shore of the city is needed.

Kelly Thomson told Kamloops City Council he doesn’t think people should be surprised by that statement, pointing to how busy the extreme weather shelter at the Kamloops Alliance Church was last winter.

“I’d say without question we need it now, let alone next winter,” Thomson said. “Next winter would be the conversation on whether we do the extreme shelter again and how we look that well.”

“The guests over [at the shelter] were very thankful. They were warm. They were able to come in and have a place to stay and get some food and have someone just to sit and talk with.”

Thomson said the Mustard Seed used an email system to get the word out to other Kamloops social agencies letting them know whether the extreme whether was open or closed.

“Probably the biggest challenge on days we weren’t open was folks that experienced homeless don’t necessarily know what the temperature is on a given day if they don’t have a phone,” Thomson said, responding to a question from Councillor Nancy Bepple.

“We [also] spent time with Glenn Hilke over at the Loop, and worked with him around communicating because most of the people on the North Shore tend of be in and out of there during the day, so we would talk with him as to whether we were open or not.”

Asked by Councillor Stephen Karpuk where people would congregate when the extreme weather shelter was not open, Thomson said a majority would go to The Loop on Tranquille Road.

“That would be where most of them would go because they could get into a place where its warm and they have food available,” he said.

“Some of them did come across to our day space on West Victoria as well. But I would say [about] 15 to 20 per cent might do both sides of the river as far as getting services or help, but the majority, if they are on the North Shore, they’re North Shore folk.”

Thomson also told City Councillors that he believes the extreme weather shelter was well received by area residents, noting it could return next winter, if it is needed.

He also said a day space somewhere on the North Shore “would be a phenomenal idea” though he admitted finding the right location would be a challenge.

“I think honestly there is a continuum that happens and part of that continuum I think is the day room where they can know and meet some people and help them kind of understand that these people really do care about me,” Thomson said.

“And then you can start asking questions around whether you’d move to a shelter? Would you do detox? Recovery? Whatever those things might look like.”