The Out of the Cold Shelter Society is continuing to work with BC Housing to find a permanent site for its operations in Kamloops.
That’s according to Executive Director, Renee Stein, who says the society – which has been operating out of Stuart Wood School downtown for the past two winters – is hoping to “plant some roots” so it can increase the services it offers.
“For some of the folks coming to Out of the Cold, that might be their only meal that day, and for a lot of our folks who are coming in, they have exhausted some of the shelter supports in town so we are often their last stop,” Stein told City Council Tuesday.
“We want to make sure that we can help them to find success so that they can have some of those doors reopened.”
Out of the Cold began at St. Vincent De Paul and moved to St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, where it was until 2019.
It partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association to operate out of Stuart Wood School for three days a week in 2021 before expanding to seven days a week last winter.
Stein told City Council that the Stuart Wood shelter is busy.
“We have our 25 people, and we average on any given day five to 20 extra folks that come to shelter who we do provide food and showers and laundry facilities to but them sadly we have to say goodnight at 10 o’clock and move them off property,” Stein said.
While the Stuart Wood Shelter is currently scheduled to close at the end of October, Carmin Mazzotta, the Social, Housing and Community Development Manager with the City of Kamloops said Tuesday that there is approval from Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc to extend operations until next spring.
“City staff were at Tk’emlúps council this morning and received approval for the extension though the winter,” Mazzotta said. “That will now go to The Crown for approval [which] is really more of a simple procedural step given the number of times we’ve gone for an extension of Stuart Wood.”
“They are well aware of the site and its use.”