Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HARBOUR HOUSE

Mustard Seed Kamloops partners with BC Housing to open new women’s shelter space

Oct 11, 2022 | 4:09 PM

KAMLOOPS — In the basement at Mustard Seed Kamloops is Harbour House. It’s a newly-renovated, 12-bed shelter space meant to accommodate all women, including transgender women, non-binary and two-spirit people.

“This is a shelter for women who need a safe space to be,” Katie Hutchins, manager of administration for Mustard Seed Kamloops explains. “It’s [open] 24 hours, so they can come any time. They can stay here and rest. There’s food, a washer and dryer, washrooms, shower. All the necessities.”

Through some of the other programs they offer, Mustard Seed noticed a gap in the shelter services available in the community for women, specifically.

“Often, women’s homelessness looks a little different than normal,” Hutchins tells CFJC Today. “We were noticing [a women’s-only shelter] was something we needed. We talked with BC Housing, because we are partners with them on some other projects, brought the idea up to them, and they helped transform this space.”

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BC Housing provided $250,000 to renovate a portion of the basement of the Mustard Seed’s headquarters. They’ll also provide over $600,000 annually to ensure the space is staffed and services are available to those in the shelter.

“Their goal is to really help women get toward housing and to focus on safety,” Dawn Himer, supportive housing advisor with BC Housing says. “We thought this was a need in the community; we recognized that. We saw an opportunity to put in the investment behind the renovation and came up with this great space. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

The space is meant to be a temporary shelter space. However, folks who are experiencing housing insecurity may need to use the shelter for weeks at a time. Hutchins hopes that Harbour House will serve each individual in whatever way suits them best.

“Having a safe space where they can stay and just focus on the next steps. Also having staff who are trained in domestic violence or intimate partner violence, all of those things they might be facing,” Hutchins says. “Some people might just need a safe space for just one or two nights, just to get out of a bad situation. Other people might be staying for weeks because that is what they need.”

The shelter is located at 181 Victoria Street West and will be open year-round.