(Image Credit: CFJC News)
Access Hub Patrols

NSBIA to monitor new Access Hub as new Kamloops facility begins operations

Feb 4, 2025 | 6:10 AM

KAMLOOPS — The North Shore Business Improvement Association (NSBIA) will be watching to ensure that there are no impacts to businesses caused by the new North Shore Access Hub, which opened on Monday last week (Jan. 27).

NSBIA Executive Director Jeremy Heighton says they’re hoping to see regular patrols around the site at 142 Tranquille Road so that any potential issues are dealt with immediately.

“We will have our eye firmly on the accountability side of this conversation and we’ll be ensuring that the response teams in our city are stepping in and effectively dealing with issues as they arise,” Heighton said. “It is what is required. It really is about how are we making sure that there are no negative impacts in the immediate area.”

“We have a history in this neighbourhood of a very poor operator and so rightly, businesses are worried and we need to pay attention to that and we need to ensure that their rights are front and centre.”

The 44-bed facility, called Pathways, will be operated by the ASK Wellness Society. It will will aim to cater to “identified community members in need from the North Shore neighbourhood, wherever possible.”

“What we say is a lot less important than what we do. That has kind of been my message to folks that have concerns,” Jeremy Cain, the Director of Outreach and Clinical Supports for the Ask Wellness Society said.

Cain told reporters during a tour of the new facility that the ASK Wellness has done “a lot of community outreach” with neighbours and that “it’s been largely positive.”

“I will say though there are some folks that are really scared about the impacts,” Cain admitted. “But when we discussed the integrated services we have with CSOs and our partnership with RCMP, I think folks have got the sense that at least we’re mindful of it.”

“I think at first people were thinking ‘we’ll you’re concerned about people in the shelter but what do you care about the spillover and what happens out there.’ Obviously, its hugely important for us,” Cain added.

“For them, I think the proof is in the pudding, and I think when they see us have people here and that we’re active out there, its going to reinforce the idea that we’re partners and that we’ll be there and responsive [to concerns].”

While the facility was not intended to be used as an extreme weather shelter or a day space, Mother Nature has forced the ASK Wellness Society to pivot as people sought shelter from the cold weather.

“Obviously, we aren’t staffed up or don’t have the resources for a full day space, but when the weather hits like this, you just have make sure you welcome folks in, kind of access them, figure out what they need and then go from there,” Cain said Monday.

“We are using the Pathways site — like our front lobby — as kind of a staging area, if needed, so we can get shelter services for other folks.”

Pathways model could be used elsewhere: NSBIA

Heighton also said the NSBIA has been calling for a new care model to help people in Kamloops who are street-entrenched. He told CFJC Today that he believes the Access Hub is a step towards that new model, noting if its successful it could be used at other facilities that may be set up in Kamloops.

“This is an opportunity for the site to make a promise of performance to community,” Heighton said. “This is an opportunity for a different model to be done well so that as we move through this 20 months, the community will be less fearful of what an integrated site like this would be.”

“Because if we can do that well, then we’ve created a new model and that is an innovative new world for us.”

The delayed opening of the North Shore Access Hub came about two months after Kamloops councillors approved a 20-month temporary use permit to the end of July 2026.

Property owner ARPA Investments has previously said it plans to redevelop the site into a mixed use development in the future.