Image Credit: CFJC Today/Adam Donnelly

By Adam Donnelly

NEW EMERGENCY SHELTER

Memorial Arena home to new emergency shelter pilot project

May 15, 2020 | 4:27 PM

KAMLOOPS — COVID-19 has complicated aspects of everyone’s life. Day-to-day activities we took for granted, like grocery shopping or visiting family, have been altered drastically. That goes for helping people experiencing homelessness in Kamloops, as well.

On Friday, the City of Kamloops, along with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and BC Housing, announced a new emergency shelter in downtown Kamloops which will increase safety and give those staying at the shelter more dignity as they work to help turn their lives around.

Usually this time of year, Memorial Arena is a sweltering sweatbox for junior lacrosse teams. However, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into all levels of sports. Instead, the old barn on Victoria Street will host a unique pilot program.

“There are 50 pods,” says Nanette Drobot, who is the Acting Regional Director for BC Housing in the Interior. “They are intended to provide more dignity for our vulnerable population because they provide a bit of privacy, and they have a real bed and bedside table.”

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According to Drobot, the pod pilot program is taking place all across the province.

“Certainly in Vernon, we’ve had some feedback that the pods were preferable to the cots that they were in,” Drobot says.

Memorial Arena is one of the sites in the city which will house the new pods. The City of Kamloops has partnered with the CMHA and BC Housing to provide a facility for the shelter, which allows for extra precautions against the COVID-19.

Image Credit: CFJC Today/Adam Donnelly

“CMHA will be the shelter operator of this facility,” Alfred Achoba, Acting Operations Lead for CMHA in Kamloops, explains. “Our job is to bring those resources folks need while providing a safe place for them to stay. Folks will have access to meals and support staff here 24/7 to provide them with life skills. They will have access to street nurses from Interior Health, harm-reduction supplies, and many other services.”

Crews were installing the pods on the floor at Memorial Arena Friday, which will meet the province’s guidelines for safe physical distancing. Achoba says once clients enter the building, it’ll be on staff at the facility to ensure other safety standards are met.

“Our job here will be to remind clients of the extra stuff which needs to be done,” Achoba says. “Washing your hands, keeping that two metres between each other, that physical, social space.”

The shelter is temporary, meant to give CMHA extra space to allow their clients to remain safe during the pandemic. The ultimate goal is getting those clients from the shelter into an independent living situation.

“This would be one of those first steps because we have all those wraparound services they need once they get that referral,” Achoba says. “Our job here would be to connect them to the resources they need, including housing, and ultimately having that self-independence that they need.”

The facility is expected to be ready in the coming days, once all CMHA staff are in place.