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December 24, 2021 - 2:30 PM
Fifteen more emergency shelter matt paces will open in Kelowna on Sunday, just as the overnight temperature is expected to drop to -20 Celsius by Monday morning.
“If it drops too cold tomorrow, we still will have a few people outside,” Stephanie Gauthier, the executive director of the Journey Home Society, told iNFOnews.ca today, Dec. 24.
Outreach workers, RCMP and bylaw officers will be checking on people sleeping rough to see if they need tents, sleeping bags or medical supplies.
Last night, there were 265 shelter beds available in Kelowna and 253 were being used, meaning there were 12 beds available.
The new beds, which won’t be available until Sunday, means there are 27 beds available.
“Based on our daily point in time count, that number should put us in alignment with being able to offer shelter for anybody who wants to come in through this extreme weather,” Gauthier said.
The communications strategy between all the agencies involved has been streamlined so one call can be made to one of the shelters which will get updates four times a day on available beds. Shelters have 24-hour intakes so somebody needing a bed in the middle of the night can be accommodated.
Plans for the extreme weather shelter were just finalized at noon today. Key elements in getting the spaces is not just the actual site but making sure the agencies have transportation, meals arranged and staff, who are in short supply with all the shelters being full, Gauthier said.
For security and privacy reasons, the location of the extreme weather shelter is not being disclosed.
The plan is to have it open just through to January for the duration of the cold snap and plans are in the works to be prepared for further cold snaps later in the winter.
Journey Home, B.C. Housing and others involved had to scramble to get this site open after plans fell through at the last minute for a new winter shelter after the landlord pulled out.
At that time, the Unitarians of Kelowna were going to offer the extreme weather matts. Instead, they’ll be providing shelter space through to the end of March so an extreme weather alternative was needed.
READ MORE: Unitarians help to make sure Kelowna has enough shelter beds this winter
That Unitarian site won’t open until January so, it’s hoped, it will be available when the extreme weather shelter closes down.
The overnight low Saturday night to Sunday morning is forecast at -13 C with a daytime high of -13 C on Sunday, so it will be cold for anyone having to sleep rough before the new spaces open.
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