Features incorporated in the newly announced emergency shelter at Salmon Arm91裸聊视频檚 Downtown Activity Centre are intended to address concerns of the community.

Twenty cots will be available in the gym of the DAC until the end of April, with hours daily from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The two bathrooms next to the gym will also be available.

The temporary winter shelter, as it91裸聊视频檚 called, is a collaboration between BC Housing, the City of Salmon Arm and the Canadian Mental Health Association91裸聊视频檚 Shuswap-Revelstoke region. CMHA will run the shelter.

Dawn Dunlop, executive director with CMHA Shuswap-Revelstoke, said check-in each night will be between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. People will not be permitted to come and go during the night, and everyone will be asked to leave at 6 a.m.

The 6 a.m. closure will help ensure there91裸聊视频檚 no overlap with other programs using the building.

She said there will be no interior access between the shelter space and the rest of the facility. Renovations have been done with regards to fire walls and bringing the space up to code. Fire doors and other locked doors will prevent access to the rest of the building.

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Dunlop said a letter was issued to neighbours and tenants of the DAC between Christmas and New Year91裸聊视频檚. A public announcement was delayed in order to first inform those closest to the new shelter.

91裸聊视频淲e have met several times with people who operate services out of the Downtown Activity Centre; they91裸聊视频檙e aware of what our operations are like and we are working closely with them.91裸聊视频�

People staying at the shelter will be allowed to go outside to smoke.

91裸聊视频淲e know people use and need to smoke, so we will have a bit of a secured area for that, with staff and security staff for support,91裸聊视频� said Dunlop. Perimeter checks will be done throughout the night.

When people come in to the shelter, they will be given a hot meal. They will also receive a bagged breakfast when they leave at 6 a.m.

She said they91裸聊视频檒l be encouraged to use the services offered during the day at the Salvation Army91裸聊视频檚 warming centre nearby, such as showers, laundry facilities and meals.

Asked why the DAC wasn91裸聊视频檛 chosen sooner, before the cold snap, Dunlop said: 91裸聊视频淲e explored every single vacant space and opportunity and we reviewed this (the DAC) 91裸聊视频� it wasn91裸聊视频檛 an option and then it became an option. I don91裸聊视频檛 know the details.91裸聊视频�

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City council and staff received complaints about the situation, including three letters that were brought up at a council meeting. The letters expressed similar concerns, particularly potential dangers from having a shelter in the same building as a childcare facility. Concerns included: children putting dangerous substances in their mouths; potential trauma from any incidents with security or daycare workers; insufficient sweeps for lethal substances due to turnaround time of overnight sheltering to daycare; and risk of losing qualified staff due to lower standard working conditions.

One resident who wrote lives across the street from the DAC and said they have called the RCMP multiple times due to drug dealing and property damage outside the daycare.

91裸聊视频淧lease reconsider and start planning for what is going to happen in the spring when the shelter is closed. Children in the buildings around the area can no longer even use that field due to possible harm from garbage, paraphernalia, and human waste. Find a solution and please stop passing the buck,91裸聊视频� they wrote.

Couns. Sylvia Lindgren and Louise Wallace Richmond, as well as Mayor Alan Harrison, expressed appreciation to those who have written or contacted them, noting it91裸聊视频檚 important to hear views of community members.

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At the shelter, the cots are set up with no dividers between them. The gym remains one big room. One of the jobs during the past few weeks has been acquiring cots and blankets, Dunlop said.

CMHA has been able to find staff and completed training on Jan. 17. However, Dunlop said, the association is looking for more staff as CMHA also runs Cedar Place down the street, which accommodates those people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e always looking for staff.91裸聊视频�

She said that between staff and security staff, a schedule is in place for the shelter.

Finding a venue 91裸聊视频渉as been a bit of a situation. It91裸聊视频檚 not how any of us wanted to be doing this, late in the day. We understand and are willing to work with the (DAC) tenants to meet their needs,91裸聊视频� Dunlop said.

She expressed her appreciation for staff and other community partners.

91裸聊视频淚t has been a lot of work for a lot of committed people,91裸聊视频� she said, adding that CMHA also works in partnership with the Salvation Army.

Meanwhile, the anonymous owner of the heated sea can which was parked Dec. 20 down 3rd Street SW from the Salvation Army and across from the tent encampment, said he planned to move it either Jan. 19 or 20. It provided warmth at night during -20 C temperatures.

Regarding next autumn and winter, Dunlop said: 91裸聊视频淲e want to be a good neighbour and work in partnership with groups. I91裸聊视频檓 hoping we91裸聊视频檝e learned some lessons in this process.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e really working with BC Housing and the city to have a location secured before next winter 91裸聊视频� to come up with a permanent solution and location.91裸聊视频�

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