The District of Sechelt has joined the hunt for a space to hold drop-in dinners for the lower Coast's homeless community.
Late last year, organizers with the homelessness advisory committee announced they would be moving the extreme weather emergency shelter to Sechelt, but were in need of a space to continue early evening drop-in services.
The Sechelt shelter, located at St. Hilda's Anglican Church, cannot presently open its doors until 9 p.m.
One suggestion that has been forwarded to the District is to make the Seaside Centre available for the drop-ins before the shelter's doors open.
"Unfortunately the Seaside Centre is just not going to be viable," said Mayor John Henderson, adding that because the centre is regularly used by the community, the dinner drop-ins could create scheduling conflicts. "If people have any other ideas we welcome the input. It's just got to work for the community as a whole."
Since Coast Reporter first began echoing the appeals of the homelessness advisory committee in November, various suggestions have come forward.
So far none have proved to be viable options to restore the drop-in dinner services that were available in previous years.
The District is exploring options, however, and continues to welcome suggestions from the community.
Following a recent bout of extreme weather, Rev. Clarence Li of St. Hilda's said as many as 10 people used the emergency shelter service in Sechelt.
"We broke the record we've held for the past couple of years," Li said. "That was probably because the shelter was open for a long stretch, almost nine days in a row because of the cold and the wet spells we had last week."
Li said that the homelessness advisory committee has discussed the high usage rate of the emergency shelter and has considered that a more full-time seasonal shelter option might be needed on the Coast.
Shelters not only provide the homeless community with a safe haven to rest during the night, but also a means of putting them in touch with services that could help improve their situation.
"Rather than focusing on having a seasonal shelter, I think the first priority is to help the homelessness outreach project to get funded again," Li added.
The project ran out of funding in November of 2011 and has been dependent on private donations since then.
"It's the most cost effective and in terms of helping people one-on-one to find housing, it's been the most effective program," he said.
Those with ideas or suggestions for a space can call 604-885-5019.
