BC Housing will be setting up shelter beds at three new locations in Kamloops, while also moving beds out of Memorial Arena in “early 2022.”
In a news release, the B.C. government says about 25 beds will be set up at the gym in the former Stuart Wood School property at 245 St. Paul Street, either later this month or in December. BC Housing has a lease to use that space until March 31, 2022.
In early 2022, BC Housing is expected to open a 50 shelter beds space at the former Greyhound bus station on Notre Dame Drive in Sahali. It will be called “Merit Place,” and will house people who are currently sleeping at Memorial Arena.
“This will enable the province to return the arena to the city for recreational use,” the news release says. Memorial Arena has been used for temporary shelter housing since May of 2020, and the City staff hinted at this announcement last week.
Canadian Mental Health Association Kamloops Executive Director Alfred Achoba told NL News it will mean that people who are in that Memorial Arena shelter won’t be displaced into the streets.
“I hear the cries, the emails from parents to me about the impact of recreational activities for their kids,” he said. “At CMHA, we want to make sure that kids have access to recreation activates, they have access to the arena for sports and so we worked hard to please both sides.”
Another 40-bed shelter called “Moira House” will be built at 600 Kingston Avenue, a vacant property near the Halston Connector. The 0.5 acre site is owned by the City, and BC Housing will have a three-year lease to operate modular housing there, with an option to extend it by two more years.
The Canadian Mental Health Association will be managing all three shelters with operational support from Out of the Cold.
“The acquisition of spaces and locations is usually for the City and BC Housing. I can’t speak to how those sites were selected,” Achoba added. “I mean Stuart Wood has been used for a temporary winter shelter before. I’m sure there was much hard work put into finding those sites so we will see over the coming months how successful it is.”
“We have a history of running shelters in our community. We have case management. We have a supportive staff. We have street nurses. We have people who are finding housing for upwards of ten people on average a month in our shelters. So, I feel confident in the location and I also feel confident in the work we are about to do.”
The total costs to set up all three shelters remain unclear, although the government says the new modular housing on Kingston Avenue will cost $1.8 million. Total construction and operating costs have not yet been determined for the other two sites.
Quoted in the news release, mayor Ken Christian says shelter is a “first step on a path to wellness.”
“Council has actively been pursuing better options than Memorial Arena and is excited to see this historic facility put back into recreational use, and to see those experiencing homelessness get a more appropriate temporary home as we continue to work with BC Housing to increase the supply of housing across the entire continuum in Kamloops,” Christian said.
In the summer, when announcing the Memorial Arena shelter would be open indefinitely, the City of Kamloops said there were at least 90 more homeless residents than shelter beds available on any given night.
– With files from Victor Kaisar
