NANAIMO — Expanded services now offered in the city’s downtown, courtesy a major renovation, are already having a meaningful impact on the local unhoused population.
The Salvation Army Centre of Hope, at 19 Nicol St., will open 30 overnight winter shelter beds beginning Nov. 1, a direct result of moving other longer-term beds into their new, multi-storey building on site.
Nanaimo Salvation Army executive director Bern Muller told NanaimoNewsNOW they’ll open nightly, just after dinner, with guests offered a warm, safe place to rest.
“A meal will be offered to guests coming into the facility, we’ll be able to provide people with a warm, safe place to sleep overnight, and then before they leave in the morning, we’ll provide them with a breakfast and some food to carry with them in their pockets so that they’re able to be supported with meals through the day.”
The program will run through to the end of March.
Funding for the program comes through a partnership with BC Housing and represents a net gain in the number of beds available on any given night in Nanaimo.
The Salvation Army’s new beds complement other shelters in the city, including two run by the Nanaimo Family Life Association at St. Peter’s church on Machleary St. and the Unitarian Shelter on Townsite Rd.
Muller said already the need is there as the weather turns.
“As I talk to guests who attend the Centre of Hope…they are telling me that overnight it’s getting very cold, particularly around midnight and the early morning hours. The availability of winter shelter beds in the city is really important for people who are trying to survive in conditions without stable housing.”
Guests arriving at the Centre are subject to a brief intake, including health screening, to ensure the organization can provide “cohesive community support,” according to Muller.
He also praised the work done through countless organizations in the community to ensure personal items are available for those needing shelter.
“With other agencies in town as well, [we] ensure that there is adequate provision of blankets and coats and the kinds of emergency resources and comfort items that are so meaningful and impactful for people who are living in an unsheltered condition.”
The expanded Centre of Hope, previously named the New Hope Centre, began welcoming guests in the summer and has allowed the Salvation Army to effectively double the number of programs, supports, and services they can offer those most in need.
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