Merit Place at the former Greyhound bus depot has 50 beds and a separate men's and women's section (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

NEW SHELTER

Merit Place to welcome clients Wednesday; businesses bracing for increased activity

Feb 8, 2022 | 1:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is ready to welcome up to 50 people into its newest shelter ‘Merit Place,’ located at the former Greyhound station on Notre Dame Drive.

It not only will be a warm space to sleep, but clients will have help available on-site on their road to recovery.

“Meals will be provided, there will be in-reach support, we have case management, we have staff who are trained on life skills and shelter accessment,” said CMHA Kamloops executive director Alfred Achoba.

CMHA staff are putting the final touches on the new shelter before welcoming its first wave of people — about 10 at first — on Wednesday. They will slowly start to filter in over the next week.

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People coming from Memorial Arena will be assessed to see which new shelter in the city is best for them.

“So we would consider factors like accessibility, how close you are to services that you need, to the pharmacy, to a psychiatrist. We would take all of those factors [into consideration] as we triage folks across the shelters,” said Achoba.

For the ones that settle on Notre Dame Drive, there are safety concerns from businesses. Even without a shelter in the neighbourhood, many have cited a significant increase in crime in the last year.

Businesses, including Zimmer Wheaton, is spending thousands of dollars a month on security.

For Bryan Ghering, owner of Windsor Plywood on Notre Dame, he’s put security measures in place to discourage any potential intruders.

“We’ve put gates, sliding gates on either side of the building. We’ve put a camera system in that’s costly. We’re looking at roll-up shutters for a couple three of the doors,” said Ghering. “Inside, we’ve probably got $4,000 worth of locks that we’re going to put on four, five doors to try and keep people out.”

Ghering put together a petition that he says was signed by nearly every business along Laval Cresent and some on Notre Dame Drive.

“Our biggest concern with the shelter is not the homeless portion of it; it’s the theft and vandalism part of it that goes along with it,” said Ghering. “You just see that throughout the city. Wherever these shelters are put in, it just becomes a disaster for the businesses around.”

The property, which had sat vacant for three years, was about to be torn down when BC Housing stepped in and leased the property for 18 months. It’s meant to free up Memorial Arena for recreational activity.

CMHA says the keys to Memorial Arena will officially be handed over to the city on Feb. 18. At that point, city staff will take over and get the facility back to normal for its dry floor season by the end of March.