Lift Community Services has been granted a temporary use permit to operate an extreme weather response shelter this winter.
The city granted the permit, and it will offer a dry, warm place to sleep and hot food for people experiencing homelessness for up to 20 people on nights when the weather makes it cold and dangerous to sleep outside.
Lift Community Services program director Kim Markel says the permit comes after weeks of uncertainty and is grateful the permit has been approved.
The centre will operate at Lift’s community resource centre at 4752 Joyce Ave. from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and will run on an as-needed basis. It may be activated because of extreme precipitation amounts, temperature or wind speed.
Twenty cots will be available on a first-come first-serve basis. Lift adds that casual staff will be hired to support overnight guests and is seeking volunteers to help prepare warm food on those nights.
“While very grateful for the support provided by the city and BC Housing to open an extreme weather shelter, we all know that shelters are not a substitute for permanent housing,” said Markel.
“The long-term answer to homelessness must be permanent housing – including subsidized and supportive housing – so that everyone can have a home where they can feel comfortable and safe and warm.”
Lift adds the Extreme Weather Response program is a provincially funded initiative that supports community service organizations to provide additional temporary emergency shelter spaces during periods of extreme winter weather.
