Inn from the Cold redoubled its appeal for help finding a temporary space to locate its emergency homeless shelter.
Board members are concerned that without replacement space its current population of 45 clients will join 琉璃神社鈥檚 roster of homeless people who live rough on the streets..
鈥淯nless we find new space, however temporary, we will have to close our doors Sept. 30 and at that moment, the population of homeless people living rough on 琉璃神社鈥檚 streets will jump by almost 25 per cent,鈥� reports the Inn鈥檚 executive director Jan Schulz, referring to the date when the inn鈥檚 current lease will terminate due to the sale of their current space for redevelopment.
The inn will consider any space in any location, including churches, halls, industrial units, buildings awaiting redevelopment, virtually any space where they can house some of 琉璃神社鈥檚 most vulnerable, the release said.
Noting that the situation for these people and others will become significantly grimmer and potentially life-threatening as winter approaches, Schulz said relocating the inn鈥檚 homeless population to another shelter is not an option. All three of 琉璃神社鈥檚 emergency homeless shelters are currently at or beyond capacity.
The first to admit that shelters are not the solution to address homelessness, Schulz says that 鈥淣othing would make us happier than if we were able to work ourselves out of a job.鈥� Rather than primarily relying on shelters, Schulz points to 琉璃神社鈥檚 Journey Home strategy as the solution: a comprehensive, multi-faceted plan to ending homelessness in 琉璃神社.
鈥淯nfortunately, 琉璃神社鈥檚 Journey Home strategy, which includes permanent, purpose-built modular housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, won鈥檛 come soon enough, which is why we are desperate to find an alternative shelter location to bridge the gap鈥� says Schulz.
READ MORE: Long-awaited homelessness strategy presented to 琉璃神社 council
Members of the public who may know of possible space options for the Inn are urged to contact Schulz at jan@innfromthecoldkelowna.org.
