(CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

Memorial Arena

Council votes to extend Memorial Arena’s use as a homeless shelter

Jul 31, 2021 | 2:37 PM

KAMLOOPS — Memorial Arena will remain as a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness for the near future.

Kamloops council voted unanimously on July 20 to extending the short-term facility licence with BC Housing for temporary shelter use at Memorial Arena on 740 Victoria St. until an alternate shelter location is identified. Memorial Arena has been a temporary shelter facility since May 2020.

“To return Memorial Arena to recreational use without an alternative shelter location would result in many people being displaced into unsheltered street homelessness, which is not an option,” Mayor Ken Christian stated.

The City of Kamloops’ 2021 Point-in-Time Count conducted on April 15 and 16, 2021, identified 222 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city. The current shelter capacity in Kamloops is 130 beds, leaving more than 90 individuals with no access to shelter on any given night.

The city stated it’s actively working with BC Housing to secure a new location for shelter space and doing everything possible to provide Memorial Arena user groups with suitable alternatives, including extending the hours at other arenas and investigating using arenas in neighbouring communities.

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