(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

There are two new shelter locations planned in Kamloops, each expected to be ready for tenants by the end of March.

Merit Place will be located at the former Greyhound bus station with a 50-bed capacity and will replace the current shelter space at the downtown Memorial Arena.

It should be ready in time for the beginning of "dry floor season" at the arena, according to a report written by city staff for the Jan. 25 council meeting.

Both Merit Place and the Kingston Avenue Moira House, near Halston Bridge, are B.C. Housing projects and will be managed by Canadian Mental Health Association, Kamloops branch.

Throughout Kamloops, there are officially 153 shelter beds available for the estimated 206 people who may need them.

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A winter cold snap in late December and early January pushed those shelters to their limits, with a peak average usage of 196 on the week of Jan. 3, according to the report.

Nightly counts provided in the report would not include The Loop on Tranquille Road, which is not permitted to operate as a shelter. When temperatures plummeted and the need arose, the operators at the outreach centre stepped up and laid down mats, bringing in upwards of 20 people who needed shelter from the cold.

The staff report adds that in extreme weather events, "no one seeking shelter is turned away," which is why the capacity of 153 in Kamloops shelters was exceeded as extreme cold set in on the city.

A temporary shelter at the Stuart Wood Elementary gymnasium makes up 20 of the shelter beds, which will be closed on March 31.

If all goes as planned, the shelter space capacity in Kamloops will reach 173 before April, with the addition of 40 beds at Moira House.

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That 40-bed facility is planned to provide low-barrier shelter space with the intent of triaging people "who have higher needs and are higher risk to other shelter sites," according to the city report.

The report adds that CMHA plans to use the shelter space for people who might be ready to transition for long-term housing options and are waiting for spaces to be available in the city.

At the same Jan. 25 meeting, housing minister and B.C. attorney general David Eby is scheduled to give a presentation on current B.C. Housing projects in Kamloops.

The City of Kamloops and B.C. Housing are also developing a memorandum of understanding to guide a more "collaborative approach" to developing future shelter needs, according to the report.

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City staff are also in the midst of a land use study which will help determine potential shelter locations for the future, when new locations are needed. Once developed, city staff are planning to create a map of those locations and an opportunity for public engagement in that process.

With B.C. Housing input, city staff intend to have potential year-round shelter sites identified by fall 2022 and "one new year-round site" established by spring 2023.

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