Inside the Loop on the North Shore (Image credit: CFJC)

By Connor Gunn

GETTING OUT OF THE COLD

Nearly 50 pack into the Loop to escape cold, say permanent winter shelters needed in Kamloops

Nov 7, 2022 | 4:43 PM

KAMLOOPS — Nearly 50 homeless people were crammed into The Loop on the North Shore Sunday night (Nov. 6) as opposed to sleeping outside.

“This is a huge emergency. We can take longer ,we can take more time to figure out what to do, we need to collaborate on all those things — but today, we need to keep people alive,” says Loop volunteer Karina Laitres.

This is the fourth night in a row The Loop has helped the homeless escape the cold. Raymond Nickel is homeless and says the temporary shelter is a literal lifesaver.

“Fifty people are alive today because of this place. Fifty people. That’s a lot. It was cold — I froze my butt off last night and, I mean, I’ve got a nice big coat. I’m a healthy man.”

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Two winter shelters were slated to open last week but the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) opted out as an operator.

With little to no other options, people living on the street went to The Loop.

“Being asked to move from anywhere warm, even the bank teller, one of those little kiosks, security will come, ‘You got to move. You got to leave.’ Where do we go next? Where do I leave to? I’d be happy to go somewhere, a designated place and be there. But they don’t seem to get it together enough to give us that,” Nickel adds.

Jamie Chase with Kamloops Fire Rescue checked in on the temporary shelter to make sure safety and fire codes are up to standard.

He says having nearly 50 people packed into such a small space is an issue in and of itself.

“It’s a great thing that they’re doing here trying to help people out on the street but what we don’t want to see happen is see a tragedy in this shelter in the middle of the night. There’s a stampede, there’s a fire — if there’s too many people for the space, it could be more of a hazard inside here than they would be out on the street,” says Chase.

“This space is not big enough for that many people but the alternative is that they’re outside in the snow. That is not healthy, not safe. We don’t want to see people dying out there,” Laitres adds.

The Loop expects more people will take refuge until the BC Housing Authority names an operator to run the two winter shelters.