File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Emergency Shelter

Mustard Seed details successes, challenges at Alliance Church emergency shelter

Apr 18, 2023 | 3:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Mustard Seed reported on its emergency winter shelter at Kamloops council’s regular meeting Tuesday (April 18) — a report filled with both successes and frustrations.

The social agency operated a cold weather shelter at the Kamloops Alliance Church on the North Shore during the coldest nights of the past winter.

The Mustard Seed’s Kelly Thomson told council Tuesday that the 30-bed facility hosted a total of 510 guests, opening for the first time on December 14, 2022.

Thomson said while the program successfully kept members of the community from freezing to death during long, frigid nights, it couldn’t do much to help them access the services they needed to get healthy.

Asked what he would change if the program runs again, Thomson told council it was tough to make fruitful connections with the shelter’s guests.

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“We found it really difficult to connect our advocates into that space, simply because of the hours it was open,” said Thomson. “The fact that when [guests] came in, they basically dropped on the cot and went to sleep and then they’re up early in the morning — there just was not a lot of time to have good conversations and maybe talk about, ‘How about going from A to B? Are you happy where you are?'”

“We got some of those conversations but not near what we were hoping to do. We’re going to have to continue to figure out that part.”

Councillor Bill Sarai told Thomson he believes Interior Health should be more involved, partnering with agencies like the Mustard Seed and offering help to the guests when they leave shelters in the mornings.

“It should be on the agencies that are in charge of recovery, harm reduction, prevention. They should be on that table every morning,” said Sarai. “If they can help one out of the 10 who leave that facility to get help, it’s a win for us.”

“The agencies that are in charge of health issues — and I’m going to say Interior Health — if [shelter guests] need (help for) mental health and addiction issues or a combination of both, that’s where they should be,” he continued. “Either in the evening when you’re intaking them or in the morning when these individuals are leaving to see where they can help with their recovery.”

Sarai and other councillors have expressed frustration with Interior Health in recent weeks, especially in light of council’s move to curb drug use in public places.

“I’m not shy to say that in the four years I’ve been in council — fifth now — that one agency is the one agency that’s never at the table to give us the help that we really need,” said Sarai. “I think the more pressure we put on them with agencies like yourself, we will see some help — but it’s not going to happen if we just keep waiting.”

On the coldest nights of the winter, spaces in shelters were hard to come by. On rare occasions, operators were forced to turn people away.

Thomson was asked whether he feels the city needs another permanent shelter, specifically on the North Shore.

“Without question, we need it now — let alone next winter,” said Thomson. “Next winter would be the conversation whether we do the extreme shelter again and how we look to do that well.”