Shelter approved, funds unclear after Penticton denied tiny homes

Penticton’s denial of a tiny home project last month for homeless people in the city last may risk an existing shelter.

The 40-bed shelter at 441 Dawson Ave. has been running for more than a year and council voted to extend a lease on the property for three years, but there’s no guarantee the province will fund the shelter itself.

It comes after council voted against BC Housing’s proposed tiny home project in December, which would have offered a transition program between shelter and more permanent homes. In a split vote, council shot it down because the tiny homes would’ve included a safe drug consumption site.

Since the Dawson Avenue shelter opened, staff told council there have been fewer emergency calls to the area. The most substantial change was a 61 per cent reduction in bylaw calls. It has also been at, or close to, capacity since it opened, while some residents have moved on to drug detox programs over time.

Coun. Shannon Stewart doubted the programs success, suggesting the statistics don’t show a substantial improvement and the drop in emergency calls could be because of police patrols.

“I think this facility has proven to be a success in my opinion,” Mayor Julius Bloomfield said at a Jan. 20 council meeting, which was met with applause from council chambers.

Stewart also took issue with the city paying the $2,200 monthly lease, suggesting higher levels of government should bear the responsibility. Bloomfield disagreed, arguing the city should share the cost, just as the province might share costs for major infrastructure.

While councillors Stewart and Jason Reynen took issue with the city’s lease cost, others were more concerned about the chance that 40 people would be ousted from the shelter if the shelter gets no BC Housing funds.

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“To even contemplate taking it away right now, it baffles me,” Coun. Ryan Graham said.

Only Stewart voted against the shelter lease, which was approved in a 5-1 decision.

Despite council’s support for the shelter, BC Housing has no current funds for a permanent shelter like this, with the exception of the Heart and Hearth program that would have funded the 50 tiny homes. Staff expect social issues to increase in the surrounding industrial area if the shelter is closed, along with calls to police, firefighters and bylaws.

Staff told council they’ll lobby BC Housing and the province’s housing minister to find the money to keep it open.

Without the money to keep it running, 40 people will be ushered out this spring until it reopens for the winter.