The newest homeless shelter in Kamloops has 40 beds for seniors as the city sees more older people on the streets.

The non-profit The Mustard Seed will run the year-round shelter once it opens this fall, more than two years after the province announced the plan to build it.

Kamloops has seen a growing homeless population for several years and that includes a 26 per cent increase in seniors on the street between 2021 and 2024. A quarter of the estimated homeless population in Kamloops was over the age of 55 in 2024, according to a survey.

The new shelter near Peterson Creek Park called Solace targets that senior population.

“Everyone deserves a safe place to turn to, especially seniors,” The Mustard Seed’s director of shelters Danielle Herbison said in a news release.

The modular building on Glenfair Drive has accessible rooms, along with social services and health supports with staff on-site 24/7.

“We want every guest who comes through our doors to know they are valued, cared for and not alone,” Herbison said.

“By working closely with housing organizations and social service agencies, we can help connect seniors to the resources they need to move toward stable housing and a brighter future.”

It’s not the only project on Glenfair in the works.

BC Housing and Interior Health are partnering to build a 20-bed complex care site at 1102 Glenfair Drive.

It will be voluntary housing site for people with complex mental health needs and part of the province’s effort to tackle the connected addictions, homelessness and mental health crises faced in many cities across BC.

“Bringing housing and health services together helps people build stability, improve their quality of life and access the supports they need in a safe environment,” Interior Health vice-president of clinical operations Diane Shendruk said in a release.

Interior Health has been operating complex care group homes across the city for several years, but the Glenfair property is the first dedicated health care facility in the program.

Construction crews are expected to break ground on the complex care site next month.