HOMELESSNESS – Yacht Club shelter adds 19 beds, more warming spaces

Another winter shelter opened Tuesday night (Nov. 8, 2022) to help the Kamloops homeless population fight off the cold.

BC Housing and The Mustard Seed opened 19 beds and additional warming space at the Yacht Club, 1140 River Street.

The facility will be open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. throughout the cold snap.

“A big thank you to The Mustard Seed for stepping up in this emergency situation to operate this shelter and to the other agencies for supporting this effort,” said Byron McCorkell, the City’s Community and Protective Services Director.

The temporary shelter brings the total shelter bed count in Kamloops to 209, including Stuart Wood (25 beds), Emerald Centre (40 beds), The Mustard Seed (22 beds), Harbour House (12 beds), Merit Place (50 beds), and Moira House (41 beds), all of which are operating at capacity.

Stuart Wood and Yacht Club are both equipped with additional warming space for those that do not have a bed but still need to escape the freezing temperatures. In addition, ASK Wellness is operating two 24-hour temporary warming centres at Crossroads Inn and Spero House.

The two warming centres saw 46 people escape the cold Monday night, while Stuart Wood provided shelter for 48 people between the beds and warming areas.

“This is what makes Kamloops, Kamloops—we look out for one another and we work together to make things happen,” said McCorkell.

“ASK Wellness recognized a dangerous situation with full shelter beds and a sub-zero forecast, pulled everyone together to figure out how to make this happen, and likely saved lives.”

The Point-in-Time Count conducted in April 2021 identified 206 people in Kamloops experiencing homelessness, which is widely regarded as an undercount as it does not include those who are precariously housed or have a temporary place to stay at the time of the count.

For information on shelters and resources available to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, visit Kamloops.ca/Housing.