There could be as many as 240 shelter beds available for homeless people in Kamloops this winter, if operators are found for a pair of shelters.
That is according to the City’s Social, Housing and Community Development Manager, Carmin Mazzotta, who told City Councillors there are currently 190 beds in the Kamloops shelter system.
As it stands, the only winter shelter that is set to operate as of November 1 is the 25-bed shelter at Stuart Wood School run by Out of Cold.
“That right now in terms of identified operators that BC Housing has in place is it,” Mazzotta told City Council on Tuesday.
But he says discussions are underway to find an operator for the 20-bed Yacht Club shelter downtown. That shelter was operated by the Mustard Seed last winter.
“In July, council once again authorized a short term facility licence for temporary shelter use over the winter at the Yacht Club,” Mazzotta said. “Staff are in consistent contact and meeting with BC Housing who were informed within days of the council decision.
“We reencouraged them at the time to secure an operator as soon as possible.”
Mazzotta also told city councillors there are “productive conversations” underway between the Kamloops Alliance Church and the Mustard Seed.
“We hope those will result in a [30 bed] extreme weather response shelter,” Mazzotta said.
“The site was supported last winter by a robust engagement framework and the Mustard Seed has expressed that they would again conduct engagement with surrounding residents and businesses, if and when the site is confirmed.”
Mazzotta says if both those other shelters operate like it did last winter, there will be 210 beds available across the city’s shelter system through the winter months, with 240 if the extreme weather shelter opens.
That extreme weather shelter operated when the temperature dropped to -10 C or below or if there was at least 5 cm of snow on the ground.
The Canadian Mental Health Association was set to operate the shelters at Stuart Wood School and the Yacht Club last winter, though it pulled its support just days before the Nov. 1 opening date forcing the city of Kamloops and BC Housing to scramble to find operators as temperatures dropped.