The freezing temperatures this week prompted the opening of the extreme weather emergency shelter on the Sunshine Coast.
The local shelter is located at the Salvation Army in Sea View Plaza Mall in Gibsons and will open when the temperature drops below zero, there has been three days or rain, winds more than 50 km or if there is snow on the ground.
According to the local Salvation Army, sandwich boards located at the Sechelt Shell, Wilson Creek Shell and Petro Can gas station in Gibsons will be set out identifying that the shelter is open. The Cavalry Baptist Church on Park Road in Gibsons will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. on shelter days offering dinner and coffee while St. Hilda's Church in Sechelt will be open from 7 to 10 a.m. to serve coffee and a light breakfast.
The news of the Coast's shelter opening follows an announcement last Friday (Nov. 19) from Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Minister Responsible for Housing Rich Coleman saying that up to 10 additional shelter spaces will be made available on the Sunshine Coast.
"These extra spaces are available primarily through the efforts of community groups and dedicated people who care deeply about their communities," said Coleman in a news release. "The Province provides the funding to have these spaces available when our weather is at its worst. Community volunteers ensure homeless people have a warm, safe place to stay."
Province-wide, more than 1,400 spaces have been identified in 34 communities under the Extreme Weather Response Program, with the ability to reach homeless people in 53 communities.
The province will provide community-based services with approximately $800,000 this year to fund the emergency shelter space. The extreme weather spaces supplement more than 1,570 permanent, year-round beds in the province funded through the Emergency Shelter Program (ESP). The ESP has undergone a major expansion since 2001, nearly doubling the number of year-round beds and increasing annual funding to nearly $60 million -almost six times as much as in 2001.
