Downtown Neighbourhood Association demands 24 hour shelter space in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – From amending park bylaws to allowing temporary overnight shelters to bringing in affordable housing plans — Kamloops still needs to do more to help the city's homeless, says Downtown Neighbourhood Association president Bill Turnbull.

After the closure of the temporary winter shelter at the former Stuart Wood elementary school last month, Turnbull says the need for a shelter is greater than ever.

“People using this shelter are now forced to spend the nights out on the street again,” Turnbull said in a news release. “As homelessness did not end March 31 and the need is greater than ever.”

Turnbull adds that Kamloops would benefit from a shelter that is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

"The (neighbourhood association) executive is calling on all levels of government, non-profit organizations to provide year around shelter space," Turnbull says.

Recently, the City of Kamloops amended park regulation bylaws to allow 13 public spaces throughout the city to be used as temporary overnight shelters for homeless individuals. The changes were initiated by a court decision that prohibited municipalities from forcing homeless people to remove their outdoor shelters, such as tents, if there wasn’t enough indoor shelter space.

Board member Leslie Lax says the association acknowledges the efforts being made by the city to help with homelessness, but emphasizes there is high demand for another indoor shelter that is open for more than just the winter season.

“We know the city is doing a lot, they are working pretty hard,” Lax says. “But there is still a need for shelter space.”

Lax says the temporary winter shelter was seeing roughly 50 to 70 people a night. The shelter opened last November after the elementary school shut its doors permanently last June. The homeless shelter was open seven days a week from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m throughout the winter.

But now, Lax says these people are being left with little choice and he believes the homeless number count in Kamloops has increased significantly from last year.

“I suspect the number will be up,” Lax says, explaining there was a recent homeless count within the city last month. The numbers from the count have not been released.

Lax says he understands the city can only do so much with limited provincial funding, but believes discussions on no-barrier shelters needs to start happening.

“Housing is a provincial responsibility and it’s time we begin to have these in-depth conversations,” he says.

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